Kids
by DD42
Summary: There are those who say that the future is not written in stone; that our destinies are ours to make. However, when a new group arrives at the doors of Fairy Tail, they will turn that theory upside down and then some. *RATING MAY CHANGE*
1. Chapter 1

_**Kids**_

DESCRIPTION: _There are those who say that the future is not written in stone; that our destinies are ours to make. However, when a new group arrives at the doors of Fairy Tail, they will turn that theory upside down and then some._

A/N: Hello everyone, this is my first attempt at a fanfic. I hope I do well and I welcome your reviews and _**not too harsh**_ criticisms…May God have mercy on my soul. From the get go you may already have an idea as to who's kids I'm talking about, so I apologize for being so obvious. Also, I will be changing the rating of this story from a teen to a possibly mature rating. It all depends on where I go with this. For now, expect some harsh language here and there and what not. With that said, let's begin!

DISCLAIMER: I do not own Fairy Tail; Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics USA own it. If I did…well let's just say some things would be different.

Kids: A Fairy Tail fanfic

CHAPTER 1: New Arrivals

The skies above Magnolia were unusually dark.

The day had started out like any other; warm and sunny. The skies were relatively clear, with the exception of the occasional cloud or two, and a light breeze gently that rustled the branches of the trees. It was, for all intents and purposes; a normal day. That was until the breeze gradually turned into a powerful wind. The wind in turn brought clouds. Not the little wisps that dotted the sky as before, but massive storm clouds that darkened the sky. No sooner did the clouds appear did the rain begin. It started light but soon developed into a torrential downpour, catching the people in the streets of Magnolia completely off guard by the bizarre change in weather. As people sought out shelter to stay dry from the storm, something else was occurring deep within the East Forest on the outskirts of town.

Within a small clearing, the wind picked up to the point where a small whirlwind of leaves and debris formed. Without warning, static electricity began to crackle as a circle of light formed within the whirlwind. Slowly, runes of various sizes and shapes began to form within the circle in a clockwise motion. Once the process was complete, the circle glowed brighter than it did before. Then, for the briefest of moments, everything within the clearing came to a standstill, despite the raging storm around it.

Nothing moved, nothing breathed.

There was no sound.

There was absolute silence.

Suddenly, with a deafening roar and flash of light, a massive bolt of lightning accompanied by a crack of thunder struck the circle with the utmost precision. A blinding white light illuminated the circle and clearing. If one were to see it, they would think a second sun was forming within the forest.

When the light faded, so did the storm. The entire event had lasted only a matter of minutes.

But…the clearing was no longer empty.

Where the enchanted circle had once formed, stood a group of seven; four girls and three boys.

Their features and clothing were hidden beneath long flowing cloaks, but they all ranged in height and build. They stood still for a moment before, if ever so slowly, they began to take in their surroundings.

"It appears we made it." Said the fourth girl, her voice being the first to break the silence with its professional tone.

"Where are we ane-chan?" Asked a small cloaked child as she gently clung to the person next to her while she held a small stuffed teddy bear close to her chest with her free hand. She couldn't have been no older than five years old.

"Home." The first boy said as he stepped out of the circle while cracking his knuckles. The way he carried himself indicated that he was the leader of the group.

"How can you be so sure?" The second boy asked.

"Notice where we are?"

The boy's compatriots took another cursory glance of their surroundings.

"Ah, I recognize where we are now…sure looks different from what we're used to." Said the third boy.

"I'll say, this place looks foreign without the training and fire damage." Said the second.

"Are you saying that's my fault?" Asked the first girl as she placed her hands on her hips.

"No, I'm just saying you tend to get carried away every now and then." Second said as he raised his hands defensively.

"Carried away? Like you're so innocent yourself." The girl said as she pointed an accusing finger at the boy.

Second clenched his hands into tight fists.

"You trying to start something toots?" The boy said through clenched teeth.

"TOOTS!? Who you calling toots you as-"

"_That's quite enough you two."_ The leader said, his voice leaving no room for argument while his aura flared slightly.

The girl and the boy both shrunk back while waving their hands apologetically. Even just a small taste of their leader's aura was enough to make them stand down.

"Sorry/Sorry boss won't happen again." They said in unison as they noticed the youngest member of their group had a pair of hands protectively covering her ears.

"Need I remind you that my little sister is with us?" The third girl said threateningly as she removed her hands from her sister's ears.

"I'm sorry, okay? I'll be more careful from now on". The first girl said as she went to stand next to the group leader.

"You better be...same for you too baka" Third muttered under her breathe as she slugged second in the shoulder; hard.

Second subsequently tried stifle is yelp of pain.

With the small conflict avoided, the group turned to their leader.

"What now boss?" The third boy asked.

The leader dug a hand into the inside of his cloak before producing a nondescript hard cover journal. He quickly thumbed to his previously marked page.

"We head for Magnolia and work our way from there. If the information in the book is correct, everything suggests that the guild will be taking on a multi team job today. We need to verify each team member's identity before we can act. In the event that our identities are discerned beforehand then we retreat for the time being and find some place to hide until we can come up with another plan. If all goes according to plan, we should be able to shadow them without any problems. After that it's all up to fate to play its hand."

"…And then we reveal ourselves?" The fourth girl asked.

The leader nodded, "Yes…so until then we must be extremely careful; understood?"

The other group members nodded in silent agreement before they followed the leader down a natural trail that winded its way through the forest.

"Are we going home?" The little girl asked as Second hoisted her up so she could rest on his shoulders.

"Yep…" Second nodded, "home sweet home."

"Are we gonna see mommy and papa when we get there?" The girl asked as she rested her chin atop her big brothers head.

"We will sweet heart, we will. Just not immediately, okay?"

"Okay." The little girl agreed.

XXX

Makarov Dreyar, the Guild Master of Fairy Tail, sat in his desk chair with his arms crossed while a pile of papers lay before him in an organized pile. He continued to watch the sky via the window in his office as the storm clouds faded away and the peaceful weather that had been momentarily disturbed return.

"That was odd." Makarov said to no one in particular.

The weather had caught him off guard due to its untimely appearance. Such storms were not unheard of but there was something…different about this storm. He had thought he had sensed an unfamiliar magic when the massive bolt of lightning hit somewhere off in the forest. Then again, the weather of the world had its own style of magic on a simple, primitive level and given how massive the lightning strike had been he really shouldn't have been surprised when he sensed a magic force. Still…there was something about it that-

Makarov shook his head to clear his thoughts.

"I'm overthinking things…perhaps I just imagined it." Makarov said as he turned back to the task set before him; deciding the team roster for an S-Class job that Fairy Tail had been requested to handle.

Makarov sighed.

He had accepted the job but he still had one glaring problem; he was down to only one S-Class Mage in the whole guild.

"Gildart's is off gallivanting like he usually is, Mirajane and Laxus are both working a job and won't be back in time and Jellal is with his own guild…so that leave's Erza."

Makarov sighed and rubbed his temples.

"She's not going to like this." Makarov said as he picked up the roster for any available mage who needed a job at the moment. After carefully weighing his options for which mage fit the criteria for the job, Makarov believed he had a team that compensated for each other's strengths and weaknesses. It was time to brief everyone on the situation.

"Cana," Makarov called out over the ruckus being caused in the guild hall, "Cana could you come in here please."

A minute or two passed before the door finally opened to reveal a strikingly beautiful woman. Cana Alberona was a brown haired, brown eyed beauty of a girl. Despite being eighteen, Cana had a body that left most women green with envy along with the talent of being able to outdrink some of the most hardcore competitive drinkers in the guild…and not suffer alcohol poisoning in the process.

How she managed to hear Makarov over the craziness of the guild eluded the man but he did not dwell on the matter.

"Something you need sir?" Cana asked as she folded her hands behind her back.

"Yes, could you possibly calm everyone down out there, we have a job and I need to brief everyone on the details concerning it."

Cana raised an eyebrow.

"What kind of job is it?"

"The important kind."

Cana smiled at Makarov's witty response.

"I'll get right on it sir."

Makarov gave Cana a smile of his own before he hopped out his seat and popped his back with a resounding "crunch" to aleve the knot that started to form his back. Makarov grunted as he rubbed his sore back.

"Maybe I'm getting too old for this." He muttered as he and Cana left his office.

"You alright?" Cana asked with a concerned frown.

"I'm fine, I'm fine," as he shook his hand at Cana, "just the usual aches and pains associated with getting old…and putting up with a bunch of obnoxious brats." Makarov gave Cana a mischief filled grin.

Cana chuckled slightly. "I'm surprised you've held out as long as you've had."

"Well someone has to keep an eye on you crazy kids."

"Ah, you know you love us."

The two entered the guild hall just in time to avoid getting nailed by a glass that was haphazardly sent in their direction.

"So…who started it this time?" Makarov asked as he observed the chaos before him. A large mass of guild members were engaged in an all-out brawl while others were trying to avoid getting dragged in it by staying on the side lines.

"I think you know." Cana said as she cocked her head to the right to avoid someone's boot hitting her in the face.

"…Natsu and Gray?" Makarov asked as he ducked from being pelted with a plate.

"Natsu and Gray." Cana said knowingly. Whether it was one thing or another, the Fire and Ice mage always seemed to be causing trouble.

The two let out tired sighs before Makarov hopped up on the bar counter. Cana let out a loud whistle that seemed to reach the ears of the guild members and cause them to pause.

"EVERYONE SETTLE DOWN AND SHUT UP! WE GOT A JOB!" Cana yelled. Her words instantly registered with the guild and everyone grabbed a seat where they could and directed their attention to Makarov.

Clearing his throat, Makarov held up the job request form for all to see.

"Earlier this morning I received a Subjugation Mission request from Crocus. A rouge magic group has been raising all kinds of hell in and around the city. The offenses range from severe property damage, armed robbery to assault. The city guard have tried to apprehend the group members but have met with little to no success. We've been asked to deal with this situation in a quick and precise matter. Once the group is apprehended and detained they are to be handed over to the Capital Guard and from there our involvement will be over with. Given the severity of this job, it has been designated an S-Class mission."

Makarov paused for a moment.

"If we successfully pull this off, the payment for our help will amount to up to 2,590,000 jewels."

Most, if not all of the guild members jaws dropped to floor once they heard the amount of pay to be given. Most normal Subjugation jobs allotted a payment of 2,000,000 jewels. The amount for this job was unheard of.

Makarov cleared his throat again as he dug into his coat then withdrawing a piece of paper.

"I hold in my hand the roster for this job. Now, given the fact that this is an S-Class job, a complication has arisen. We are short three of our S-Class mages, with only one in our presence."

Everyone directed their attention to Erza. The redhead swordswoman leaned against a support beam with her arms crossed as she eyed Makarov curiously.

"That being said, I have created the team based on some of our guild mates who are closely matched in strength to our S-Class members. It wasn't easy but I believe these people will be able to compensate for the lack in strength."

Makarov looked at the list in his hands.

"The team for this job are as follows," Makarov paused to make sure he had everyone's attention, "Erza Scarlet, Natsu Dragneel, Lucy Heartfilia, Gajeel Redfox, Levy McGarden, Gray Fullbuster, Juvia Lockser, Wendy Marvell and Romeo Conbolt."

Makarov let the names of the team sink in as the guild hall broke out into conversation. While the group members were excitedly chatting with one another about the payment amount to the fact that they had been selected for an S-Class mission, Erza had left her spot and approached Makarov.

"Master Makarov," Erza said tersely, "can I speak to you in private?"

"_Here we go" _Makarov thought.

"Of course Erza." The two left the guild hall for a more secluded area of the building.

Once they were sure they were alone, Makarov turned to face Erza.

"What seems to be the problem Erza?"

"I must protest against the selection you made for the mission," Erza said as she crossed her arms, "I do not feel that the members selected will be effective for the task at hand."

"I don't like this anymore than you do Erza." Makarov answered back levelly. Makarov considered each and every member of Fairy Tail his "children." They were a nakama… a family. And like any parent, Makarov dreaded putting his family in harm's way.

"Then why did you select them? Couldn't you have at least waited until someone more qualified returned or-"

Makarov raised his hand cutting Erza off. Makarov let out a deep sigh before giving Erza an understanding look.

"I understand what you're saying Erza but the fact of the matter is that we simply do not have the time to wait or delay this job any longer than it has to be. The longer we wait, the more time the rouge group has to cause more damage…people's lives are at stake here. Crocus specifically asked for our help and I do not intend to let them down. I don't think the two of us could live with fact that we let innocent people get hurt while we procrastinated with this job."

"But Master-"

"Erza, you've worked together with the selected people before. You know what they're capable of. They can be unorthodox at times but they are just as capable as any other S-Class mage in the guild. So long as you are there to guide them, everything will turn out fine."

Makarov gently took Erza's hand into his own.

"I have the utmost confidence in your abilities."

Erza lowered her head slightly and avoided looking at Makarov for a moment before nodding with a confident smile.

"You're right Master…I'm sorry to have doubted your judgment."

Makarov smiled brightly.

"That's the spirit. Now have everyone pack up and meet up at the train station, time is of the essence."

"Sir!" Erza nodded curtly before heading back into the guild hall.

Makarov watched Erza leave. Before looking out a nearby window, a slight frown on his face. During the entire conversation, Makarov could have sworn someone was watching him and Erza. Whoever it was or if anyone was there, they were gone now and were quite adept at hiding their magical signature.

"_I hope everything turns out fine with this job…I have an odd feeling about this."_

XXX

The leader watched Magnolia from atop the spire of Kardia Cathedral. The town appeared just the way he'd left it.

From South Gate Park and all the way to the Book Land, everything appeared exactly the same. And, as he looked past the river that divided Magnolia in two, he saw the building that would one day become his home.

A home he already missed.

The leader sighed as he crossed his arms across his chest.

"Dear Mavis, I'm getting homesick already." The leader said as the first girl took her place next to him as if she had appeared out of nowhere.

"I know what you mean. Everything looks and feels the same...it's strange seeing home like this."

The two were silent, enjoying the view offered by the Cathedral.

"Everyone has confirmed the identities of the group being sent to Crocus…it's just as the book said. As of now they're heading for the train station; they're on the move as we speak."

"Then so are we." The leader said as he left the vantage point, his cloak billowing out behind him.

The girl followed suite but not before taking one last glance at Magnolia.

"We'll meet soon enough…mom, dad." The girl said before heading after her compatriot.

XXX

A/N: Soooooooooo, what do ya'll think? Glaringly obvious plot points and characters here but, whatever. I'm rolling with it! I hope you've enjoyed the first chapter. I'll get to work on the next one as soon as I can. As stated before, this is my first fanfic here so don't be too harsh on me with the reviews. I appreciate constructive criticism but not to the point where it tears apart my self-esteem. If you have any questions, just post them in your review.

Until next time, adios!


	2. Chapter 2

A/N: Hello everyone and welcome back. Classes have been busy so sorry for not updating so soon. I appreciate the reviews that I've gotten, they mean a lot to me.

-_**lilpumpkingirl**_: I do apologize for keeping details in the first chapter kind of vague when it came to the seven kids. I was going for build up when I made the chapter so I really didn't take too much detail into account. Rest assured however, I will be adding names and characterization/details in this chapter and the following chapters. And to answer your question, yes, _I am NOT a first time writer_. I have been writing for a very long time now and have been perfecting my style ever since. This is just the first time I've posted a fan fiction…like, ever, so I appreciate that you've noticed that. Also, the kids age, aside from the little one, range from their late to mid-teens.

-To everyone else who's reviewed, I'm glad you guys think I'm off to a good start. I promise I will try to not disappoint your expectations as I continue this story.

Once again, thank you for the reviews…and without further ado, let's begin.

XXXX

CHAPTER 2: Contact Pt.1

With a screeching of metal on metal and the hiss of steam, the train carrying the Crocus Team came to a stop. No sooner, had the conductor opened the doors to the passenger car did Natsu Dragneel bolt towards the nearest trash can as a series of dry heaves erupted from his chest. The pink haired mage had a…_unfriendly_ relationship with motion sickness.

"For crying *cough* out *blegh* loud." Natsu muttered as Lucy and Happy came over to him and patted him sympathetically on the back.

"We really should find you medicine for that sooner or later." Lucy said as Nastu began to regain his bearings.

"Yeah, whenever you lose your lunch you get really cranky and smell like dead fish." Happy said as the blue exceed hovered off the ground.

Natsu sent a quick glare at the winged cat as he wiped what was left of the bile off his lips as the rest of his team disembarked from the train, their luggage in tow.

"Alright everyone, listen up." Erza said as the group formed up in a semi-circle around her as she pulled a map out of her back pack.

"The Captain of the Capital Guard will be meeting us shortly to let us know what's going on here in the Capital. We nearly missed the train back at our last stop so we're running behind schedule. We need to make our way to the Capital Barracks lest our targets catch wind that we're here, so let's hurry."

"Right!" The others said in unison as Erza set a brisk pace for the Barracks. Natsu, however, paused for a second and took a look behind him. He thought he sensed someone watching him from a distance. It wasn't threating by any means but it was a noticeable presence none the less.

"Natsu!"

Natsu was shaken out of his stupor as Lucy ran back towards him.

"You're gonna get left behind if you don't hurry up…what's wrong?" Lucy asked as she noticed Natsu frowning slightly.

Natsu shook his head and gave Lucy a comforting smile. "It's nothing, let's go."

Together, the two ran after their group; unaware that they were in fact being watched.

XXXX

"Your instincts are sharp as ever." The leader muttered as he watched the Crocus Team, Natsu in particular, make their way to the barracks.

He stood with his left leg bent atop the ledge of a building with his left arm resting on it. He had forgone his cloak, as had the rest of his group, since it would draw too much attention in the city. He was tall for his age of seventeen years with broad shoulders, muscular frame and relaxed demeanor. He wore a pair of trendy, dark framed glasses with a white, long sleeved button down shirt with the sleeves rolled up to the elbows and a black button down vest atop it. Two black wristbands on both wrists and a black leather belt with a few pouches kept a pair of black slacks in place while a pair of black lace-less dress shoes completed the ensemble. His most distinguishing feature was his _pink_ hair.

Standing up from his spot, he turned to the girl next to him…his fraternal twin; his sister.

She was a beautiful girl of medium height, but had a slim, curvaceous body. Her blonde hair had natural pink highlights mixed in with the golden strands and was kept back into twin pigtails. A blue bandana was tied around her neck while she wore a sleeves blue and white collared shirt with a black elbow length shirt underneath it. Both shirts were small enough that they exposed her taught midriff. A brown leather belt with large buckles was wrapped around a blue short skirt. A pair of black, knee high socks and black combat boots completed the look.

"Everything's going just as the book says." The second girl said as she continued to intently watch the Crocus team, her gaze never leaving Lucy.

The leader placed a hand on her shoulder.

"C'mon," he said with a comforting smile as he took one last look at the group, "everyone is where they need to be. It's time for us to do the same."

"Right." The girl said with a confident nod.

With that, the siblings began leaping from rooftop to rooftop, unnoticed by the people below.

XXXX

The Crocus team sat in a small briefing room located within the barracks of the Capital Guard. They sat in wooden chairs while a slide projector was being readied in the center of the room. Standing before the mages was the Captain of the Guard, Johan Tenembaum. Tenembaum was a man in his mid-fifties with salt and pepper black hair and beard and piercing green eyes. He stood tall and proud in his polished armor while his right hand rested close to the sword at his hip. Once the projector had been set up, Tenembaum faced the group.

"Ladies and Gentlemen of Fairy Tail, I cannot thank you for enough for coming to our city on such short notice. We have tried to contain the situation as best as we could but we are running out of options."

"Think nothing of it Captain, we're just glad we can be of assistance." Said Erza.

"Yeah, once we kick these guys' asses into next week, you won't have to worry about them ever again." Natsu said confidently.

"I wished I shared your optimism, but I don't expect these people to go down lightly." Tenembaum's tone was grim as he motioned for the first slide to be moved.

The image that appeared caused Lucy and Wendy to gasp quietly while Levy subconsciously moved closer to Gajeel. The image of what used to be a street corner had been turned into something out of a war zone. The main building was missing half of its front section while the street surrounding it had been reduced to a mess of craters and upturned cobblestone. There were blood stains here and there.

"This used to be a small, family owned store. The group responsible for this has caused similar damage to various buildings in and around the city along with the assault and reckless endangerment of forty people over the last month. We, the Capital Guard, have done our best to apprehend those responsible but have found ourselves outmatched at every turn. It was recently that we realized that only another magical group could combat this threat and I was ordered personally by the King himself to contact your guild immediately."

Another slide moved into place, this one of four mug shots from police records.

"These are the members of the rouge magic group simply known as "Pain.""

Tenembaum extended to his hand and pointed at each member of the rouge group.

"The first man here is Mikhail Deathwing."

The mug shot was of a man with snow white hair tied back in a ponytail and had a well groomed beard-mustached combo. An eye patch covered his left eye where a zigzag style scar ran from his hairline down his cheek bone and too the tip of his jaw. The glare he gave with his cold, dark eyes could have killed anyone, no matter how strong, if it was possible.

"The de facto leader of the team. Deathwing is wanted in Fiore and other countries for crimes ranging from extortion and kidnapping to manslaughter and the torture. He specializes in destruction magic, meaning that anything he can touch can be reduced to a pile of rubble."

The next person was a woman with her violet colored hair tied into a loose braid while her dark brown eyes held a eeriness that could only be described as…creepy. She had a smug smirk on her face as she posed for the camera.

"This woman is simply known Wynonna. Don't let her looks fool you, she's a complete narcissist and sadist in one package. She is responsible for last year's prolific murder of a diplomat from Sin and countless assassinations in multiple countries. She specializes in plant magic and can create plants designed to poison you or swallow you like a Venus fly trap…a plant that will slowly and painfully drain the life out of you."

The third group member appeared; a young woman whose face was obscured by the hood of her jacket and the long bangs of her light brown hair. A stuffed cat doll could clearly be seen as she hugged it close to her.

"This poor soul is Leila McAllister. Her parents were murdered right before her eyes when she was young and she never really recovered from the experience. She was on her own for the longest time from what we can gather but the bodies she leaves in her wake whenever someone crosses her is enough evidence to warrant extreme caution. She uses wind magic to create sharp, razor like gusts of wind or concentrated air to eviscerate her victims. I should also note that she sees Deathwing as a father figure but we have no idea as to why. She's very protective of him so be very _careful_."

The fourth and final slide moved into position. The picture made even Gajeel shift in his seat uncomfortably. It was of a man who was wrapped from head to toe in bandages. Only strands of spiky green hair could be seen sticking out of the bandages along with his glowing red eyes and insidious grin.

"This man is the definition of the words psychopath and creep. Meet Wren Myerson; a man so dangerous and depraved he has an execution/kill on sight order for him in every country on Earth Land. This man has one goal in mind; kill anyone and everyone just for the sake of having "fun." He is the most dangerous and unpredictable of the group. He specializes in blood magic, meaning he can convert his blood into any weapon he so chooses."

With those words, the projector was switched off. Tenembaum sighed and look at each individual member of the group.

"I know you people didn't have to come here for this. Believe me, I don't want anything to happen to you…but we're simply out of options. You're the best of the best so I pray you'll be able to stop these people."

Tenembaum paused.

"Given the nature of these people, I give each and every one of you the authorization to use lethal force. If you have to kill these people to stop them, then so be it. It will not affect your payment for this mission in the slightest. I would ask you to avoid collateral damage but that would be asking too much. If you are in need of reinforcements, head towards the castle, I will have the guards watching for you. If you do, however, manage to detain one of these criminals, we have specialists on standby who will be there in a moment's notice to seal their powers and provide you with medical assistance."

Erza raised her hand slightly.

"How will we be able to find these people?"

"They mainly stick to hit and run tactics so it's hard to say. But as the evidence shows, they'll most likely find _you_ first."

"There goes the element of surprise, for all the good it did us." Gajeel muttered hotly under his breathe. Levy placed a comforting hand on his arm.

Tenembaum took a deep breathe.

"That is all for the briefing, you may start your search when you are ready. I wish you the best of luck." And with those words Tenembaum left the mages to their own devices.

Erza was the first to stand up.

"Alright everyone, here's the plan. We'll be splitting up into separate teams." Erza unfolded a map of Crocus and placed it on a nearby table with the rest of the group forming a circle around it. The three exceed, Happy, Carla, and Pantherlily, hovered near their respective partners.

"Natsu, Lucy, I want you two covering the east residential section. Gray, Juvia, you'll be taking the market district. Gajeel, Levy, I want you two to head over to the financial district. Wendy, Romeo, you're with me; we'll be heading to the main square. If anything happens and we find ourselves out matched, we meet up near the Castle at the center of the city."

Erza looked at each and every member of her fellow guild mates.

"I don't think I have to emphasize how dangerous these people are. So I want you to look after your partners no matter what happens; understand?"

The mages gave their various forms of acknowledgement.

"Then let's get started…good luck to all of you."

And with that, the respective teams went their separate ways, each one hoping that they would make it through the day.

XXXX

Natsu and Lucy, accompanied by Happy, made their way down the cobblestone streets of the residential section of Crocus. Apartments of various sizes lined both sides of the street while people walked down the sidewalks going about their daily business.

"Who do you think we're going to run into?" Natsu asked casually as he looked at the rooftops of the buildings.

"In this city, it could be anyone. The Captain said they may know we're coming so it could be anyone's guess." Lucy answered back worriedly.

Natsu, having noticed Lucy's concern, gently placed a comforting hand on her shoulder.

"Hey, if anything happens, you know I'll be there for you right?" Natsu asked with a comforting smile.

Lucy returned the smile and gently placed her hand on Natsu's.

"Yeah…I know."

Natsu was about to reply when he suddenly sensed a massive amount of dark energy. His and Lucy's heads snapped to the top of a nearby building where a man stood looking down on them, his back hunched and arms dangling at the sides. Natsu slowly moved in front of Lucy as Happy landed and tried to hide behind Natsu's leg.

"Natsu he's…"

"Yeah…Wren Myerson." Natsu said as he felt his senses heighten.

Myerson on the other hand stared at the two mages with obvious glee as his ever present grin began to widen. With surprising speed, Myerson raised his hands before slamming them down of the roof.

"Multi-blood spike vine!" Crimson red cracks ran down the side of the building and into the street with blinding speed. Natsu, Happy and Lucy both jumped out of the way in time to avoid the needle like spikes that shot out from the blood. While the two mages and exceed managed to avoid the spikes, a few innocent bystanders were caught in the attack, the red spikes skewering them in the arms, legs or sides. The spikes then retracted from their victims, leaving them crying out in agony.

Others were not so fortunate.

Myerson began cackling like the lunatic he was as he jumped down from the building and landed on the street, the cobblestone cracking beneath his feet. If they already hadn't, many of the civilians began to run away from the madman, leaving the mages to their battle.

"Well, well, well…what do we have here?" Myerson said as he rose to his full height, "More people to play with? Oh, this must be my lucky day."

"Happy, find a safe place to hide. We'll handle this guy." Natsu said as he and Lucy took defensive stances, the latter reaching for the Celestial Keys on her hip. Happy nodded frantically before flying off to a safe distance, anxiously watching as the three mages squared off.

"Oh, so you did come to play. I must say I'm flattered." Myerson stretched out his arms dramatically. "I was becoming bored with all these city folk, they hardly put up a fight. You two are a welcomed change in pace."

"Shut up creep, one way or another you and your friends are going to pay for the crimes you've committed." Lucy said.

"Friends? Oh, you must mean my associates. I wouldn't really consider them friends. They don't like playing with me, but they do let me have a lot of fun wherever they go."

Myerson then pointed his one hand at Natsu and Lucy.

"But now that you're here, I can make up for lost time…Natsu Dragneel and Lucy Heartfilia."

Natsu and Lucy recoiled in shock.

"How do you-"

"Know your names?" Myerson said cutting Lucy off, "Please, you two and your guild are always in Sorcerer Magazine. It's hard not to know who you are. Besides, we knew you were coming anyways."

Myerson cracked his neck, his grin never once faltering.

"The Boss knew you and your guild would be coming after us once we started too much trouble…after all, a world renowned guild such as Fairy Tail should have no problem handling such common criminals like us, shouldn't you?" Myerson asked mockingly.

"Listen…stand down or be taken down." Natsu said threateningly as he glared at Myerson.

"And pass up a perfect opportunity to have some honest to god fun? I think not!" Myerson said just as three massive explosions resounded throughout the city. Natsu and Lucy looked in the general direction of the first explosion and saw smoke steadily rising into the air.

"Ooooooh, it looks like your friends ran into the others," Myerson said in a sing song voice, "Which means it's time for me to get started."

Myerson suddenly clenched his hands together and his hands turned into claws that dripped with blood.

"Now mages of Fairy Tail, _let's have some real fun!_" With those words, Myerson bolted forward towards Natsu and Lucy.

Natsu was quick to react.

"Fire Dragon's Roar!" Natsu said as he took a deep breath of air before launching his signature attack.

The large jet of flame spewed out from Natsu's mouth while Lucy drew two Spirit Keyes from her waist.

"Open gate of The Golden Bull and gate of The Scorpion!" Lucy said as Taurus and Scorpio appeared next to hear.

"We are going to kick some ass!" Scorpio proclaimed.

"May I be the first to say that you look even lovelier every time I see you Lucy-san!" Said Taurus.

"Not now Taurus." Lucy said as she watched Natsu's attack score a direct hit on Myerson.

However, instead of going down and bursting into flames, Myerson leaped out of the inferno and tried to slash at Natsu with his claws.

Natsu leapt back and ducked just as Taurus took a swing at Myerson with his axe. Myerson took the hit and was sent flying backwards into a building as blood gushed from the open wound.

"Our turn." Scorpio said as he fired his Sand Spear into Myerson. The side of the building partially collapsed from the dual impacts. A large pile of rubble had formed where Myerson once was.

"Did we get him?" Lucy asked as she stood next to Natsu who continued to hold his defensive stance.

The rubble began to shift and to everyone's shock, Myerson rose from the ruble. The bandages that were scorched from Natsu's attack fell off of Myerson to reveal a muscular body no completely covered in dripping blood.

His once manic grin had now turned feral.

His eyes glowed an even brighter red.

"Not even close sweetheart." Myerson said in his sickly calm voice. He then licked his lips with his freakishly long tongue.

"Damnit, our attacks didn't even do anything." Natsu said through clenched teeth.

"Now it's my turn!" Myerson said with glee as he raised his hand into a fist. The blood that had been spilled by Taurus's attack suddenly rose from the ground and formed into individual but perfect spheres.

Myerson then pointed his hand at the mages in the shape of a gun and simply said:

"_Bang_."

Like bullets from a gun, the spheres shot forth with blinding speed. Hey were too fast to dodge.

Scorpio and Taurus found themselves riddled with the blood bullets but moved to protect Natsu and Lucy. Said mages only suffered small but burning cuts to any exposed area not guarded by the celestial spirits.

"What the hell was that!?" Natsu cried out as he grabbed his shoulder in pain.

Taurus and Scorpio collapsed to their knees. They were wounded and their time was running short. Though they may be immortal, the two celestial spirits were drained of the magic that allowed them to stay on the human world. If they were to suffer another damaging attack, they would be forced back to the spirit world.

"Did you like that? It's just something I like to call my Blood Barrage." Myerson said as he hopped off his pile of rubble.

"And that's only a fraction of what I can do."

"Any ideas?" Natsu whispered to Lucy who stood next to her sprits.

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Lucy muttered as she closely examined Myerson, biting her lip in thought. She could still see the slash across his abdomen from when Taurus struck and his skin still had a charcoal black burn here and there. He could be hurt but it would be difficult. Perhaps if they delivered a serious blow at once like before…then maybe they could…

"Taurus, Scorpio, can you two still fight?" Lucy whispered.

"Y-yes m'lady/We can still fight." Taurus and Scorpio said in unison.

"Good, because I have an idea."

XXXX

Myerson watched the mages with his head cocked in interest.

"_Oooooooh, they're planning something! I love it when the prey plans; it makes killing them so much more worth it_."

They mages and spirits were closely huddled together. The girl was whispering something while the three boys nodded their heads as she spoke.

"C'mon, don't keep things hidden from me, you're boring me." Myerson taunted.

The group fixed him with one last glare before Natsu suddenly burst forward at Myerson, his hands engulfed in flames.

"That's more like it!" Myerson said as he burst forward with equal speed.

The Dragonslayer and Psychopath collided; Natsu delivering a fierce right hook while narrowly avoiding Myerson's blood spike left cross. Myerson turned into the punch and slashed at Natsu's chest. Natsu was able to avoid the attack but the front of his shirt was ripped in the process. Myerson took the initiative and pounced on Natsu.

"Shit!" Natsu exclaimed, "Fire Dragon's Claw!"

Natsu rolled back and with his flame enhanced feet, pushed Myerson back with a devastating kick.

Myerson tumbled back end over end and slammed into another building. Motionless for only a few seconds, Myerson dislodged himself from the building and landed in a slouched position. Myerson cracked his neck before cackling again.

"Is that the best you can do? And for a second there I thought I had to worry about you."

Natsu smirked.

"Who said you had to worry about me."

"Taurus, Scorpio, now!" Lucy called out.

A sudden gust of wind made Myerson spin around towards Lucy. Scorpio had created his Sand Buster while Myerson had been distracted and was now channeling it around Taurus's axe.

"_The boy was just a distraction…the real attack is coming from her!_" Myerson thought as Taurus leapt into the air.

Scorpio created a wall of sand around Natsu just as Taurus struck Myerson with the Sand Storm Axe Aldebaran. Smashing his axe down with crushing force, Myerson disappeared in a geyser of sand as several tornadoes of sand soon followed the attack. A fine cloud of dust and smoke soon filled the area.

Scorpio lowered his barrier and Natsu rejoined Lucy.

"I think we got him." Natsu said as Lucy gave a confident nod.

"Nice job Taurus, Scorpio." The two spirits nodded proudly at Lucy.

They all froze however when they heard a very familiar laughter come from the sand.

Before anyone could react, four dark red tendrils shot out from the sand with blinding speed. The first two plunged into Scorpio and Taurus, skewering them through their chests. The attacks used the last of their magic and they began to fade back into their own realm.

"L-Lucy, r-run." Was all Taurus managed to say before he and Scorpio disappeared back to the Spirit World.

The remaining tendrils wrapped around Natsu and Lucy's ankles before the two could defend themselves. The tendrils proceeded to toss the two mages about like they were ragdolls. They were slammed to the ground, into buildings and at one point they were tossed into the air before being violently struck back to earth. The two laid motionless on the ground for what seemed to be an eternity before groaning in agony as they attempted to stand. Lucy began to cough up blood as Natsu tried to move to her.

"L-Luce…hang…i-in there…"

A tendril violently struck Natsu to the ground.

Myerson had other ideas.

The tendrils returned once again this time wrapping themselves around Natsu and Lucy's arms, legs and finally their throats. The tendrils then lifted them up into the air.

"Weak, weak, weak; is that the best you maggots could do!?" Myerson said as he stepped out of the crater he had been in, the tendrils branching out from his back. Myerson, now only clad in his ripped pants and boots, raised his index finger in a "no, no, no" motion.

"I'd hate to admit it but I've gotten rather bored of you two."

Myerson let out a tired sigh and pinched the bridge of his nose.

"Oh well…I guess I can always move onto your friends. I'm sure they're dead by now but if they're not..."

Myerson snapped his fingers as if he was struck with inspiration.

"I know, I'll kill you two then maybe the others will let me play with your friends if they're still alive."

Myerson then brought Natsu and Lucy toward him. Natsu and Lucy tried to resist their bonds but the tendrils only tightened more and pulled at their limbs to the point where they might snap. Lucy cried out in pain.

"None of that now…I promise I'll make it quick." Myerson raised his right index finger as it morphed into a razor, sharp blade and slowly dragged it against Lucy's cheek. Lucy whimpered in fear as she felt the blood run from the wound.

She hadn't felt this afraid in a long time.

"Leave her alone you bastard." Natsu managed to choke out.

Myerson turned his attention from Lucy to Natsu. He then extended his hand and slowly began to ground his finger blade into Natsu's shoulder causing him to hiss in pain.

"A fighter to the end aren't we?"

Myerson removed his finger.

"Hey! I just thought of something; want to hear a story before I kill you? No? Too bad! Once upon a time there was this man by the name of Wren Myerson. He was just an average guy who just happened to be on death row for the murder of three people. Then one day, the prison let a group of scientists practice magic on the death row inmates. They were going to die anyways, who cared if a bunch of criminals were sacrificed in the name of science? Well, one day Wren, that's me, was hauled in for a special kind of experiment. I was supposed to die but the experiment backfired. Lowe and behold, I was able to escape the lovely prison I called home. The experiment gave me incredible power, power that truly allowed me to have fun and perfect my craft."

Myerson let out a wistful sigh and let his grin grow wider.

"Good times…good times."

Myerson cracked his neck again.

"Well! Story time's over kids; time to die!"

Myerson pulled his hand back and aimed at Natsu's heart.

"You're first buddy boy!"

"Natsu!" Lucy cried out.

Natsu braced for the attack…that never came.

"Multiple light blade technique!" a voice cried out.

A series of bright slashes cut not only the tendrils binding Natsu and Lucy, but they also cut Wrens hand clean off before it could strike.

"_**WHAT!?"**_ Wren cried out.

"Teleportation!" Natsu and Lucy disappeared in a flashes of light before…

"Fire Dragon's Brilliant Flame!" A massive fireball engulfed Myerson in a pyroclastic blast.

Natsu and Lucy reappeared away from the fire. As soon as their feet hit the ground, they collapsed in pain. Lucy had suffered the worst of Wren's attacks but Natsu managed to make his way to her and cradle her.

"Easy Luce, I got you." Natsu said as he gently comforted the blonde spirit mage.

Lucy coughed again; hard this time.

"W-what happened?"

"I don't-"

"Nice shot sis, but I don't think he's down yet." A voice suddenly said.

Natsu and Lucy snapped their heads towards the voice just as two people landed in front of them.

"Hey, I'm just glad you got mom and dad out of the way in time. A second later and I don't think I would have been have able to hold the fire that long."

The two new comers turned to face Natsu and Lucy who gasped in turn when they saw their saviors.

They were staring at mirror images of…themselves? No, they may have looked like Natsu and Lucy…but they were different. And did the boy just say "mom" and "dad"?

"W-who are you people?" Lucy asked before coughing again.

The boy frowned and knelt down in front of Natsu and Lucy.

"Healer's light." The boy muttered.

His hands began to glow a light blue as he extended them towards the two. The two mages couldn't react as they felt a warmth spread over their bodies. Their wounds suddenly healed and they felt their energy return to their once battered bodies.

"I'm sorry" the boy said, "I'm sorry we didn't get here sooner."

Before either Natsu or Lucy could open their mouths, the sound of Myerson's laughter broke the silence.

Myerson, his body charred and smoking stepped out of the ashes of the fireball.

"What's this?! Two more friends to play with?!"

Myerson began to laugh like a giddy school girl.

"Two for two, oh this _is_ my lucky day."

The boy stood up and stepped forward with his sister.

"You two stay back." He said to Natsu and Lucy.

"We've got this." The girl said as she cracked her knuckles.

The two newcomers slowly took offensive stances.

"You ready Lilly?"

Lily Dragneel snorted.

"I was born ready; what about you Igneel?" Lilly said with a smirk.

Igneel Dragneel made a similar smirk that mirrored his sisters…and looked exactly like his father's.

"I'm all fired up."

Without further prompting, the two siblings ran towards Myerson, ready to attack.

XXXX

And there it is, the first of the seven kids have been revealed. I'll get working on the next chapter or chapters as fast as I can. I will tell you guys that they will be focusing of Gruvia, GaLe, and Jerza, however. I hope I did well with the action scenes, I'm a very detailed oriented person so it took me a while to get everything together. I hope you guys enjoyed this as much as I did writing it!

Read and review please! I'll see ya'll next time!


	3. Chapter 3

A/N: Hello everyone! I'm so, so, so, sooooooooo sorry for the very late update. Things have been busy with my college classes, my part time job, and it's taken me some time to get my thoughts together for this chapter; it's a long one this time…and I kind of reconnected with my Xbox *nervously laughs and rubs neck*. Any who, here is the next chapter for Kids with the appearance of three of my seven OC's, but before that; a shout out to my reviewers:

-_Kaida-Nee Alberona_: I don't know how I should respond to you trolling me…honored I guess?*shrugs*

-_Vaneles_: I'm glad you liked the chapter. I put a lot of thought into crafting Igneel Dragneel and glasses just seemed to fit what I had in mind. And, yes, I can see Natsu stealing Loke's glasses just for fun too.

-_PandaGirl_: I'm glad you liked the chapter.

Thank you to everyone else who reviewed. I really appreciate it.

Also, the name Chiara is the Italian form of Clara. Chiara (kee-AH-rah) means "Light" in Italian…if you haven't figured it out yet, I'm hinting at something.

Now that that's done, let's get started.

XXXX

CHAPTER 3: Contact Pt.2

_**With Gary and Juvia…**_

To say things were going well for the ice and water mage would be a runner up for the "Understatement of the Year" award. The two were currently locked in a head to head battle with Wynonna, the second member of Pain. The plant mage, despite how hard Gray and Juvia tried, was steadily gaining the upper hand over the two mages.

"Gray-sama, look out!" Juvia cried just in time for Gray to dodge a thorn spiked vine that tried slashing him from behind.

Gray ducked, spun around and froze the vine. Juvia immediately used her Water Slicer spell to shatter the vine into millions of pieces.

"Damnit, that's the fifth time that's happened!" Gray said as Juvia immediately to Gray, helping him stand. During the course of their battle, Juvia and Gray had taken a number of blows while not even laying a scratch on Wynonna.

"Gray-sama, are you alright?" Juvia asked as she helped the ice mage to his feet.

"I'm fine" Gray said as he grit his teeth. A laceration on his lower back from one of Wynonna's was starting to burn again, "Juvia, we have to get out of here. I'd hate to admit it but we're outmatched this time."

The sound of hands clapping and amused laughter caught the two's attention. Atop a large vine, which was steadily being lowered to the ground, stood a scantily clad woman with her violet colored hair tied in a loose braid. Wynonna smiled in smugly as she crossed her arms across her chest.

"Leaving so soon? I thought we were having fun?" Wynonna said in mock sadness.

The violet haired mage gave a haughty chuckle.

"And to think, you two were doing so well earlier."

_**FLASHBACK: Minutes earlier**_

Gray and Juvia walked amongst the hustle and bustle of the market district, the later clinging to the ice mage's left arm. Juvia gave a content sigh as she rested her head on Gray's shoulder. Gray on the other hand was trying to avoid eye contact with his number one fan while a tint of pink held fast to his cheeks.

"Geez Juvia, why do you have be so clingy?" Gray said as he nervously looked away from a group of school girls that were giggling and pointing at the duo.

"But Juvia enjoys being with you Gray-sama. Juvia hardly gets to spend alone time with you and this is the perfect chance to catch up on lost time."

Gray let out an embarrassed groan.

"Juvia you're making a scene, could you not be so clingy please."

Juvia looked at Gray with a confused look.

"Don't you like Juvia spending time with you Gray-sama?" Juvia asked, the hurt in her tone becoming more noticeable.

Juvia didn't want to admit it, but she felt Gray was trying to avoid her. She had started to notice the change in Gray's behavior ever since the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games and the months that had followed.

"W-what!? No, Juvia it's nothing like that!" Gray said as he waved his hands defensively.

"It isn't like what Gray-sama?" Juvia said as she crossed her arms, "Gray-sama, you've been acting strange around Juvia for a while now…it's almost like you're avoiding me."

Before Gray could respond, the sound of amused chuckling caught the duo's attention. The two turned to see an old woman with a pair of paper bags in her arms.

"My, my, don't you two make a nice couple." The woman said as she gave a beaming smile.

"C-couple!?" Gray and Juvia said in unison. Gray's embarrassed blush grew while Juvia simply went to Cloud 9 as her overactive imagination kicked in from zero to sixty in a micro-second with a high pitched squeal of delight.

"Listen mam, we're not-"

"Oh, you don't have to explain anything to me young man, your eyes say it all." The woman said as she cut Gray off.

"My what?" Gray said while Juvia was snapped out of her day dreaming at the woman's words.

"_Gray-sama's…eyes?"_ Juvia thought.

"Your eye's dearie. The eyes can tell one many things about a person if you look hard enough. But even though your eyes tell me one thing…I sense your heart is conflicted. Am I wrong?"

Gray couldn't form an answer or retort. His mouth could only stiffly open and close like a fish gasping for air. How could this woman have read him so easily?

"Gray-sama, what is she talking about...what aren't you telling Juvia?" Juvia asked as she slowly approached Gray.

Gray was beginning to panic when the woman chuckled again.

"Don't worry dear, I won't tell her anything…I'll leave that up to you." And with those words the woman went about her business just as quickly as she had appeared. In her wake, she left a heavily conflicted ice mage and an equally confused water mage.

Mortified from the experience Gray lowered his head, his eyes hidden from Juvia.

"Gray-sama, what was that woman talking about?" Juvia asked as she gently placed on Gray's shoulder, only to have it shrugged off. Juvia winced slightly while Gray cursed internally. He'd done that with more force than he'd wanted to.

Gray looked up at Juvia and cringed when he saw the pained look on her face; the small tears forming at her the corners of her eyes.

"Damnit…Juvia I didn't mean to…it's just that I, GET DOWN!" Gray suddenly cried out as he grabbed Juvia and dropped themselves not a moment too soon as a series of razor sharp roses impacted the ground where they had just been standing.

"And here I thought you would be the ones _to find me_. Not the other way around." A feminine voice said just as a larger barrage of roses flew towards Grey and Juvia.

"Ice-Make: Shield!" Gray said as the flower like shield blocked the incoming attack. The nearby civilians noticed the transpiring battle and instantly vacated with screams of horror and surprise.

The ice shield dissipated and Gray and Juvia rose to find a scantily clad woman with violet colored hair and a sly smile walking towards them from down the street. Gray and Juvia instantly recognized the woman from the Captain's briefing: it was the second member of Pain, Wynonna.

Said woman gave a haughty laugh as rose formed in her hand.

"Well, well, well, if it isn't Gray Fullbuster and Juvia Lockser of Fairy Tail. I have to say the magazines and tabloids do you two no good. You're both shorter that I'd imagined."

Grey and Juvia instantly took offensive stances. Gray formed his ice sword while Juvia turned her right arm into her water cane.

"So you two intend to fight? Not going to run away are we?" Wynonna taunted mockingly.

"Don't count on it." Gray said as Juvia launched her cane's whip at Wynonna. The water whip impacted the ground just as Wynonna dodged the attack. Gray charged forward and began lunging at Wynonna with his sword. The plant mage easily dodged left and right before jumping back onto a massive vine that suddenly erupted from the ground. Several smaller vines sprouted from the main one and flew at Gray who in turn was able to dodge and slice the plants to ribbons.

"Gray-sama get back!" Juvia yelled as she raised her left palm and swept it left. Gray jumped back to Juvia as her Water Force attack seemingly appeared out of nowhere. The massive wall of water slammed into Wynonna's vine only for her to leap to the top of a nearby building.

"Color me impressed. I guess the magazines were true about you two." Wynonna said.

"You don't know that half of it." Gray said as he threw off his jacket and under shirt.

"Oh my, a strip tease for me, you shouldn't have." Wynonna said as she seductively licked her lips.

"WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY!?" Gray said as he comically blanched at the plant mages words.

"Don't you dare talk to Gray-sama like that!" Juvia said as she angrily pointed at Wynonna, a large red tick mark forming on her noggin.

"Gray-sama? I didn't know you two were an item?" Wynonna said mockingly as she placed her index finger on her chin in mock thought and surprise.

"WHAT!?" Both Juvia and Gray said in unison.

"And here I thought I would be able to keep you all to myself…oh, well, guess I'll just have to settle for playing with you then." Wynonna said with her trademark smirk.

"Not going to happen toots." Gray said as he reformed his sword.

"Want to bet." Wynonna said as she flicked the rose in her hand at the two.

Before the Gray and Juvia could react, the rose glowed bright red before detonating in a massive explosion when it impacted the ground near the duo. Gray caught Juvia as they were hurled backwards from the blast. The two landed away from Wynonna but before they could regain their senses, a large mass of vines shot out from the smoke straight for the two. Gray instantly froze the vines and Juvia used her Water Slicer to shatter the frozen plants. Another set of vines shot forth towards the two, this time from a nearby building and the process was repeated. Then two sets of vines attacked, then three, then four. It quickly became apparent to Gray and Juiva that they were being toyed with.

"Oh what fun indeed." Wynonna said as she cruelly smirked at her two "toys."

_**FLASHBACK END**_

And that was where the two mages of Fairy Tail found themselves; out of breath, battered and cut and up against a ruthless opponent. Gray had taken the most hits from the vines and he was currently leaning on Juvia for support. The water mage wasn't fairing any better. Even though Juvia could break her body down into water, the vines managed to hit her blind spots when she was busy helping Gray.

"I do think I've let this drag out long enough." Wynonna said as she let out a yawn. Gray and Juvia glared daggers at the crazed mage.

Wynonna smirked as she slammed her palms down on the ground.

"Plant Entrapment: 10,000 vines of pain."

The ground began to rumble and the cobblestone began to part as a large mass of vines suddenly and violently sprouted into the air. Gray and Juvia could only stare in horror as Wynonna threw her arms forward, the vines doing as they were commanded. Gray immediately created his Ice Cannon while Juvia made her Water Beam, which began to boil from the duress she found herself in. The two attacks hit the vines with devastating effect…but it wasn't enough.

Before either Gray or Juvia could ready another spell, the vines slammed into them with crushing force. The vines wrapped around arms and legs, tossing the two mages to and fro. Within minutes, the vines dragged Gray and Juvia before Wynonna. Gray could feel a sharp pain in his chest, most likely from broken ribs while his left eye had swollen shut. Juvia could barely feel her tight leg and a small trickle of blood leaked from the corners of her mouth. The vines all the while kept them separated and restrained.

"A valiant effort I assure you but a futile one none the less." Wynonna said as she walked towards Gray. Wynonna gently stroked his cheek with her index finger before she pushed her body against Gray, grinding herself against Gray as she did so.

"You especially caught my eye." Wynonna purred as she licked Gray's cheek. The ice mage drew back as best he could but a vine slowly wrapped around his neck and began to squeeze; hard.

"Don't resist, I promise I'll-"

"Get away from Gray you _bitch_." Juvia spat out as she gasped for breath.

Wynonna looked at from Gray to Juvia with a shocked look before laughing out loud.

"Excuse me…did you just call me a bitch?"

Juvia gave a defiant stare. Without warning Wynonna leapt off Gray and grabbed Juvia by the neck.

"Answer me when I talk to you, you little whore." Wynonna said through gritted teeth.

Juvia's response was a simple one: she spat at Wynonna with a wad of blood and saliva.

Wynonna recoiled in horror as if she had been struck by the hand of God himself. She wiped the spittle off her cheek before looking at Juvia, her hand and then back at Juvia.

"Y-you…d-did not just spit on me." Wynonna snarled.

Juvia smirked.

With a roar of unparalleled anger, Wynonna slapped Juvia hard enough that it caused Juvia's head to snap to the side with whiplash grade force. Wynonna then delivered a fierce punch to Juvia's stomach causing the water mage to cough up blood.

"You think you can do that to me and get away with it?" Wynonna said as a demented smile formed on her lips and her body began to twitch spastically. A whip made from the very same thorn vines that were binding the two mages appeared in Wynonna's hands. Stepping back in a jerky fashion, Wynonna drew the whip back before snapping it forward. Juvia cried out in pain as the thorns connected with her skin. Wynonna drew the whip back and attacked again with increased ferocity.

Juvia cried out again and again. Soon her skin was covered it deep cuts; her clothes reduced to tatters.

"Leave her alone you crazy bitch!" Gray choked out only to have a vine pummel his already damaged ribs, not once, not twice but three times. Gray immediately began to hack up blood as he struggled to breathe.

"Shut. Up." Wynonna said through gritted teeth. Reaching into her belt, she withdrew a small, concealed knife. Wynonna walked up to Juvia and held the knife a mere inch from her neck.

"Your skin is so pale and pretty…_I hate it_." Wynonna said as she slowly moved knife closer. "By the time I'm through with you, you won't be so pretty anymore."

"J-juvia, n-no." Gray's voice was a hoarse whisper. He had to do something, he had to save Juvia. No matter how ahrd he tried he couldn't muster up an attack. The image of Motherglare and the hatchlings from the Grand Magic Games vividly flashed through his mind.

"_Damnit, no! Not again, I can't lose her again_!" Gray thought as he desperately and violently struggled against the vines.

Wynonna drew the knife back ready to plunge it into Juvia.

"NO!" Gray cried out.

Before Wynonna could strike, fate intervened.

Without warning, spheres of glowing water rained down up the plants before detonating on impact with tremendous force.

"WHAT THE HELL!?" Wynonna cried out before dodging a new threat; razor sharp spikes of ice which began to burst from the ground. It seemed that no matter where Wynonna landed, the ice was quick to follow. Gray was having trouble following this new series of events.

"W-where did that come from?"

The vines gripping him suddenly went slack as two blades of water made short work of the plants. The water then did the same for Juvia. Without hesitation, Gray had her cradled in his arms the moment she was free; his body screamed at him for moving so fast however.

"G-gray?" Juvia whispered.

"_She's alright…she's alright!"_ was all Gray could think.

"W-what…happened?" Juvia whispered before violently coughing.

"Don't speak, just take it easy."

Wynonna, having gained her bearings, focused her attention back on Gray and Juvia.

"I"VE HAD IT WITH YOU TWO FREAKS!" she roared. Conjuring another vine, Wynonna launched it at the two mages.

Gray moved to shield Juvia but before the vine could hit, something…or more to the point, _someone_, eviscerated the plant right then and there. Gray could only watch as two newcomers landed in a crouch stances before slowly rising.

"WHO THE HELL ARE YOU TWO?" Wynonna screeched.

"Nobody touches our parents like that and gets away with it." Said the first newcomer, a boy in his mid-teens.

He was tall with a broad, muscular frame. His midnight black hair was cut in a short, spiky manner and matched his dark blue eyes. He was shirtless, thus the tribal style tattoo's that ran from the boys shoulder blades to his upper arms were revealed. An aquamarine blue sash was wrapped around his waist thus keeping a pair of baggy cargo pants in place. A pair of lace less leather boots with protective shin guards that reached his knees completed the ensemble. The three things that stood out the most to Gray however were the gauntlets of ice that encased the boy's arms from his elbows to finger tips, the silver cross necklace dangling from the boy's neck…and the fact that Gray was looking at a slightly younger version of himself.

"W-what?" was all Gray could say.

"Sam, could you handle the psycho lady while I take care of mom and dad?" asked the second newcomer, a girl this time. She seemed a year or two older than the boy.

"Sounds good to me. Oi, Jenny! Did Chiara find a good hiding place?" The boy said as he cracked his knuckles.

"You know she did, I picked it."

"Heh…just making sure."

Gray heard Juvia gasp slightly in shock and he already knew the reason why. The girl bore a striking resemblance to Juvia.

The girl was slim but fit although her upper body was hidden beneath a white poncho with a series of blue bars running along the bottom. Her hair was cut short in the way Juvia had cut hers when she had first joined Fairy Tail but she had a short braid that started at the base of her head. A knee length skirt with two small slits in the sides could be seen beneath the poncho and a pair of laced up sandals completed the look.

"Who are you people…and what do you mean mom and dad?" Gray asked as the girl approached. He and Juvia subconsciously began to back away.

Jenny Fullbuster gave her parents a small, understanding smile.

"I know you're confused and have many questions…but those can wait." Jenny placed her hands on the ground and a rune filled circle formed beneath Gray and Juvia. A dome of water formed above the two. Gray and Juvia began to panic until they realized they could breathe in the water.

"Regenerating bubble." Jenny murmured.

The two instantly felt the water soothe and heal their bodies.

"No you don't!" Wynonna suddenly cried out. She summoned another vine and launched it at the bubble. Sam Fullbuster, however, was faster.

Sam leapt into the air and with one powerful swipe of an ice enhanced claw, the vine was severed in two.

Sam landed and gave Wynonna a confident smile.

"You're going to have to do better than that."

Wynonna scowled.

"Don't test me boy."

"Sorry, but because you nearly killed my parents I'm going to have to kick your ass." Sam was the one who scowled this time.

"And for that…I intend to make you pay." With those words, Sam formed two swords of ice in his hands and charged Wynonna.

XXXX

_**With Gajeel and Levy…**_

"Gajeel get up we have to keep moving!" Levy cried out in panic as the Iron Dragon Slayer collapsed to his feet for the third time.

With a groan of extreme pain, Gajeel used his free hand to grasp at the profusely bleeding wound in his abdomen while his other hand tried to hang onto Levy. The Solid Script Mage could barely support her partner but had managed to move through the maze of streets that made up the financial district. They soon came upon a small square and Levy hauled Gajeel over to a nearby water fountain where she promptly sat him on the ground.

"_This is bad, he won't stop bleeding!" _Levy thought as a million other thoughts raced through her mind while applying pressure to the wound with her hands.

The gut wound wasn't the only wound Gajeel was suffering from. Multiple deep, laceration and puncture wounds were scattered about his body.

Gajeel tried to stand but the newly added weight on wound above his left knee caused Gajeel to nearly holler in pain and as the leg refused to move, the muscles freezing in protest. He tried to do the same with his right leg but was met with similar results.

"S-shit…it's no use shrimp, I-I can barely move my l-legs…y-you'll have to leave me." Gajeel managed to say through gritted teeth.

"No don't say that! I'm getting you out of here!" Levy protested.

"Don't…argue with me S-shrimp…you have leave before _she_ finds you." Gajeel said as he began to cough up blood, "She's already ambushed us, don't stick around on my account just so she can do it again."

"I'm not leaving Gajeel!" Levy countered as she shook Gajeel's shoulders, "You've always been there to protect me, now it's my turn."

Gajeel managed to crack a smile.

"You giving me orders now?" Gajeel said before hissing in pain as Levy applied more pressure to his stomach.

"You know what they say, "Nothing ventured, nothing gained."" Levy said with a grunt as she draped Gajeel's arm over her shoulder and attempted once again to help him stand.

"_There you are."_ Said an eerily calm voice.

Levy and Gajeel froze. Their heads slowly turned around and found Leila McAllister sitting on a nearby bench. Her eyes were still hidden by her hood and bangs and the stuffed cat doll was still clutched in her arms.

"I thought I told you two that you couldn't run from me. Papa Deathwing told me to kill you and that's what I intend to do." Leila said, her voice still calm and even.

Levy tried to move herself and Gajeel but the sudden rush of air and the cutting of stone just centimeters away from her foot caused Levy to freeze in her tracks.

"It is pointless to resist…you cannot escape me."

Levy fixed the stone faced girl with a glare and gently began set Gajeel down.

"Shrimp, what are you doing?!" Gajeel asked as Levy leaned him back up against the fountain.

She did not answer him. Instead she stepped forward and moved her body so that it was blocking Leila from Gajeel. This did not go unnoticed by the quiet girl.

"You intend to fight?" Leila said as she stood up, "…I find that very unwise."

"I won't let you hurt him; not again, not like the way you did." Levy said defiantly.

Leila was silent for a moment. She then slowly cocked her head to the side.

"_Then so be it."_

Levy reacted quickly.

"Solid Script: Fire-Heat Spell!" Levy yelled as the word _FIRE _appeared before her and subsequently burst into blue flames which shot out at Leila.

Before the flames could land a hit, Leila simply swiped her had to the left and a blade of air dispersed the flames.

"Wind Scythe." Leila said in her calm voice as swiped her hand at Levy. A massive gust of wind appeared from nowhere and flew at Levy, tearing a visible gash in the ground.

"Solid Script: Guard!" The barrier appeared in the nick of time. The wind attack slammed into the barrier with tremendous force that it began to crack. If Levy hadn't brought the barrier up when she did she knew she would have been simply cut in two.

Leila continued to hurl her wind attacks at the barrier but Levy had already formed a plan in her mind's eye.

"Solid Script: Oil!"

The barrier crumbled just as the incantation had been uttered and a long stream of jet black oil flowed from the word. Before Leila could move away from the attack, the oil seeped into her boots and kept her in place.

"_Gottcha!" _Levy thought with a triumphant smirk, "Solid Script: Fire!"

The flames from the incantation hit the oil and the flammable liquid immediately burst into flames causing a blast of flame to form where Leila stood.

"I did it…I did it!" Levy cried out surprised that her plan had worked, "Gajeel, I did it!" Levy spun around and ran to her partner.

Gajeel managed wince a smile.

"Not…bad shrimp…not bad at all."

Levy gave Gajeel a brief but tender hug. A hug which the Iron Dragonslayer returned. Levy moved to help Gajeel up again.

"Let's get out of here before-"

"Before, what?"

Levy froze and turned around to see the flames she had created starting to disappear.

"No." Levy whispered.

The flames parted to reveal Leila standing behind a barrier she had made from the wind. The tight frown on the quiet girls face indicated one simple thing; Leila had become seriously annoyed.

"NO!" Levy cried.

The barrier dissipated and before Levy could blink, Leila used a burst of wind to appear right before her.

"Going somewhere?"

And with those words, Leila formed a lance of air and rammed it straight through Levy's abdomen, causing the blue haired mage to scream out in agony.

"LEVY!" Gajeel cried out.

Impaled on the lance, Leila lifted Levy off the ground with one hand holding the lance. Her other hand still held her stuffed animal.

Levy gripped the lance and tried to remove herself from it only to have her hands begin to bleed as the air cut her palms and fingers.

"I told you there was no escape."

Leila removed the lance and Levy fell to the ground in a heap, her hands clutching her stomach as tears of pain freely fell from her eyes. Leila calmly walked over to Levy, flipped her over with her foot before placing it on her neck; hard. Levy began to gasp for air as her hands weakly tried to remove Leila's foot.

Leila moved the lance so that the tip was directly over Levy's heart.

"And now you die."

"Get away from her you bitch!"

Leila turned her head to the source of the words and was promptly punched in the face by Gajeel's Iron Dragon's Club.

Leila soared through the air and collided with a nearby building.

Gajeel pulled himself over to Levy with great effort. His bleeding hadn't stopped and he was starting to feel the effects.

"G-Ga-Gajeel." Levy said weakly as she coughed up blood.

"Don't speak shrimp. Don't move. Don't do anything." Gajeel said as he placed his hands on Levy's wound in the manner she had done to him.

"I'm s-sorry, I tried to stop her, but-"

"Don't, just don't." Gajeel said through gritted teeth as he felt the warmth of Levy's blood seep through his fingers. Like Gajeel, Levy was bleeding out; but at a faster rate.

"Damnit, no!"

Gajeel heard a muffled groan and looked up to see Leila standing up.

"Shit * gasp* what will it *gasp* take to *gasp* keep her *gasp* down!?" Gajeel said through deep gasps for air. His blood had chosen the worst possible moment to really set in.

Leila stood up and clutched her head. With a groan reached into the rubble to retrieve her stuffed doll. As she picked it up, the sound of cloth tearing could be heard. Before she could do anything, Leila watched as her most prized possession split apart.

"NO!" Leila screeched as she frantically tried in vain to place the cat doll back together.

_Drip_

Leila froze as she watched a dark splotch form on the fabric of her beloved toy. Then another and another. She suddenly became aware that her nose hurt really bad at that is was very wet all of the sudden.

Leila touched her fingers to her nose and when she looked at them, she froze.

Blood…she was bleeding.

Blood.

Blood.

_**Blood.**_

Leila began to tremble violently as images of a man and woman being brutally slaughtered flashed through her mind.

_Mama…Papa…Blood._

The words repeated themselves over and over in Leila's mind.

Then, Leila's head jerked back and she screamed. She let lose a cry of unbridled fear and agony. It was a kind of scream that can only come from one reliving an event that they'd rather not. An event that they'd rather forget.

"Aw, hell." Was all Gajeel could say.

Leila's head snapped at the duo; her eyes glowed a furious red beneath her bangs.

"KILL…I'M GOING TO KILL YOU!" Leila screamed like a banshee.

She bolted forward towards Gajeel and Levy. Gajeel pulled Levy closer to him with the fleeting hope that he would be able to protect her. Levy whimpered in fear and closed her eyes. The resounding sound of flesh being cut made her cringe.

She waited for death to come and claim her.

…A minute passed.

Then another minute.

Levy opened her eyes to something she was not prepared for.

Standing in front of her and Gajeel was a young man who appeared to be in his late teens. Leila was using her wind attacks to slice into her with all her fury but what surprised Levy the most was that he didn't really seemed to be bothered by the attacks. If anything, she would have said the attacks almost annoyed the boy if she didn't know any better.

The boy's right hand snapped out and delivered a powerful right cross to Leila's skull. The girl was sent flying backwards a good distance away from the boy.

With Leila taken out of action for the moment, the boy turned around to face the mages.

It was then that Levy got a good look at their savior.

He was tall with a heavily muscled physique. His shoulders were broad and his waist was tapered. He had coal black hair that was semi-spiked up while a loose strand of hair fell over a white bandana which he had wrapped around his head. He had silver piercings in both his ears and had three similar looking studs above his left eyebrow. He was shirtless but a series of intricate rune like tattoos were evenly spread out across his arms, shoulders, chest and torso. He wore a pair of coyote brown cargo pants with a heavy leather belt and buckle holding them in place. The look was completed with a pair of steel toed boots and mirrored, blue wraparound sunglasses.

Levy gasped when she saw the ragged and vicious looking cuts on the boy's body and chest begin to slowly seal up; the spilled blood returning back into his body.

The boy noticed Levy's shock and gave her a small, comforting smile.

"Are you two alright?" the boy asked as he removed his sunglasses to reveal a pair of crimson red eyes.

It was then that Levy noticed how similar the boy looked like herself…and a certain dragonslayer who happened to be holding her in his arms.

"The hell?" Gajeel whispered.

"W-ho…who are you?" Levy sked after a tense silence.

The boy was silent before he gently took Levy's hand into his own. Levy couldn't explain the sudden and almost familiar connection she felt with the boy.

"My name is Saito…Saito Redfox. I'm your son; your unborn son."

Levy and Gajeel's jaws dropped at this sudden revelation. Their expressions ranged from shock to borderline horror.

"WHAT!?" The duo answered before doubling over in pain.

Saito frowned.

"I regret that I don't know any healing magic. I'll get you to Igneel or Jenny when the fight is over. But for now; stay put while I handle her." Saito said as he hitched a thumb over his shoulder; just as Leila returned. The ground cracked beneath her feet as she began howling like an animal.

Saito stood up and calmly faced his opponent. A very familiar grin formed on his face.

"Dragon Skin: Living weapon." Saito said as his eyes suddenly glowed a brilliant red.

The runes across his body glowed a similar red but his skin suddenly turned darker than any black Gajeel or Levy had ever seen before, his muscles becoming more defined while his facial features and mouth simply vanished until all that remained were his glowing red eyes. The only way you'd be able to see his nose or brow would be if he turned sideways. The skin made a sound like rock's hardening while his fingers suddenly turned into razor sharp blades.

Saito cracked his neck then pounded his fists together causing fiery orange sparks to bounce off the knuckles. He then took a defensive stance.

"**Don't worry."** Saito said as he turned his head to face his parents, his voice now having a metallic ring to it, **"this won't last long."**

Leila howled again and charged Saito.

Saito in turn let a deep and powerful roar rumble from deep within his chest, flared his fingers and leapt forward to meet his foe.

A foe he would punish for harming his parents.

XXXX

Aaaaaannnnnnnd that does it! Holy crap that took me longer to write than I thought but here it is. I thank you all for being patient with me and I hope you enjoyed this new chapter. I have a lot on my plate at the moment so I don't know when I can post the next chapter. I'll work my damned hardest to complete it and post it, so rest assured. Also, should I change the rating for this story? I hope I wasn't too graphic or anything along that line. If you guys think I should change it, just let me know in your review.

Once again, thank you for your patience and I'll see you all next time.


	4. Chapter 4

A/N: Sup' everyone. I apologize if this chapter is a little late. I'm just coming out of a cold that was really, REALLY screwing with my head , I've had to deal with my first major essay for my writing class along with a math midterm I'm studying for and I had a wedding I needed to attend (HAD A CRAZY GOOD TIME!). ..Needless to say I've been busy. I want to make it clear that I will try to update this story as soon as possible whenever I finish a chapter but I have a busy schedule so a weekly update plan is a bit…iffy, to say the least and I always wait a day or two…or three for the reviews to come in. All I ask is that you be patient with me; please.

On another note, about all the couples in this story that I ship or imply are together…_**THE SHIPS HAVE SET SAIL AND AS THEIR CAPTAIN; I WILL GO DOWN WITH 'EM! **_*clears throat and recomposes himself from Captain Morgan pose*

With that out of the way, a shout out to you guys:

**-**_**PandaGirl**_**:** You were hyperventilating!? Damn, I didn't know this story had such an effect on you *Embarrassed smile*. In all honesty, I'm glad you like what I've done so far, I really am. As for you liking Saito, I guess I'm better at crafting characters than I thought. I will try to update soon so hang in there please.

**-**_**Darkhope**_**:** I did my best to make the proper scenes for my pairings. I'm glad I was successful in doing that. I'm very detailed so expect more as the story goes on. Glad to know you ship Gruvia!

**-**_**Sesshomaru'sCrazygal**_**:** I'm glad you love the story and have no fear, I will continue with this story for a while before I start something else.

Now ladies and gentlemen, please return your trays to the upright position and fasten your seat belts because you're in for a loooong ride.

OH! Before I forget; for Deathwing's voice the closet real life voice actor/actor that I know of would have to be Michael Ironside…dude's a badass. Enough said.

XXXX

CHAPTER 4: Contact Pt.3

_**Minutes before initial encounter's…**_

Erza Scarlet walked at a leisurely but alert pace as she and her two guild mates made their way into the central square. Romeo and Wendy stayed back a few feet behind Erza, covering her back in case anyone tried a sneak attack. The central square was a large, open sized area that encompassed a total length of ten city blocks. At the center of it was a massive but beautifully crafted water fountain with multiple steps and benches that led to it. Children laughed and played while other people gathered to lounge and talk on the benches or dip their feet into the cool pools of water the fountain offered.

"In a place this lively it's going to be hard to pick out those Pain guys." Romeo said as he observed the crowd.

"Indeed, so that's why I want you two to be alert at all times." Erza said as she glanced back at the two mages.

"I wish Carla were here, maybe she could have provided us with a bird's eye view of the crowds." Wendy said with a hint of sadness in her voice.

Before they had left the barracks, Erza had Pantherlily and Carla break off from the group in order to scout out the rest of the city. Their ability to fly meant they could easily spot the Pain members and return to Erza or their respective partners at a moment's notice. Both exceed had vehemently expressed their objections to the idea but once Erza reminded the two cats of the stakes at hand, they reluctantly agreed to Erza's plan; Carla more so than Pantherliliy.

"I regret not having her come with us, but she can be in more places than we can at one time." Erza said as she gave Wendy a sympathetic smile.

Romeo placed a comforting hand on Wendy's shoulder.

"Don't worry about her, she can handle herself." Romeo said with a small but confident smile.

Wendy's cheeks took on a slight pink hue as she gave Romeo a similar smile.

"You're right…I'm sure she'll be just fine."

Erza smiled as she watched the two before turning her gaze forward once more.

Then Erza asked, without preamble, a question that sent Romeo and Wendy for the mother of all curveballs:

"_So, Romeo, Wendy, how long have you two been dating?" _

Erza's tone had been so nonchalant that it took a second for the question to register with the two. But once it did…

"WHAT!?" Romeo and Wendy said in unison, their cheeks turning a vibrant crimson while their expressions mirrored the perfect combination of surprise and fear.

"_Bingo."_ Erza thought.

The swordswoman stopped and faced the mortified couple.

For some time Erza had suspected that the Rainbow Fire mage and Sky Dragon Slayer had been together. She had seen the two become closer in the months following the conclusion of the Grand Magic Games. The two could be seen at a table talking about a book that either Romeo or Wendy was reading or just having a pleasant conversation. As time passed, Erza noticed the two would sit closer and closer to each other. Then there were the times Erza had spotted the two walking about Magnolia. At first, Wendy's and Romeo's hands would brush causing Wendy to turn a wonderful shade of scarlet that almost matched Erza's hair color, but they eventually moved from subtle touching to linking their pinkie fingers together and finally to full blown fingers intertwined. Erza didn't want to be the one to start up the rumor mill so she held her tongue and passed it off as just puppy-love. But based on Wendy's and Romeo's reactions…

Erza gave a triumphant smile as she crossed her arms.

"I knew it…so; how long."

If it was possible for the young couple to blush even more than they already were, Erza had no idea. The two looked like two red hot peppers from the blushing on their faces. However, that didn't stop Wendy from slowly linking her hand with Romeo's.

"For t-the past t-three month's now." Wendy said as she averted her eyes.

"And you haven't told anyone because?" Erza let her question hang in the air.

Romeo began to rub his neck with a nervous smile.

"Well…you see, the thing is...we've been trying to wait for the right time."

"And why's that?" Erza asked.

"Natsu and the other guys get so protective of me whenever some guy my age comes around," Wendy said with a small sigh, "and I don't think I need to explain how Carla would react."

The image of a mother grizzly bear protecting her cubs was the general image that came to mind.

"We just want to wait for when everyone will be accepting of our relationship…and not try to kill me at the same time." Romeo said as he and Wendy nervously chuckled.

A calm silence ensued.

"…You won't tell anyone will you Erza." Wendy asked hesitantly.

Erza smiled and shook her head.

"Your secret is safe with me. I respect your decision and I will support the two of you in any way that I can."

Romeo and Wendy beamed at Erza.

"Just don't let your relationship interfere with your work. I don't want you two to needlessly risk your lives if something were to happen." Erza said as she turned back around.

"_They do look cute together."_ Erza thought.

"Ah, young love, such a wonderful thing isn't it?" Said a deep, rough but composed voice.

The trio turned to the source of the voice and froze in place. Sitting at a bench, only a couple of feet away from them was Mikhail Deathwing; the leader of Pain. He had his arms stretched out across the back of the while his left foot rested across his right knee; a typical relaxed position.

"_He wasn't at that bench before, when did he get there!? I didn't even sense him!" _Erza thought as she took a defensive stance while Romeo and Wendy moved to cover left and right flank.

The civilians had started to notice the commotion being caused by the mages. Some backed away in fear while others looked on with curios fascination.

"I was wondering when you would get here Fairy Tail." Deathwing said as he lowered his arms and linked his hands together in his lap.

"Mikhail Deathwing I would presume?" Erza asked as she slowly drew her sword from its sheath.

"I am." Deathwing said with a nod of his head.

Deathwing, despite his age, which if Erza had to guess was somewhere in mid to late fifties, was fit with broad shoulders and a composed stance. His snow white hair was still tied back into a ponytail and his jagged scar was still prominent by his eye patch. However, instead of a fierce glare, Deathwing observed his opponents with a professionalism one would not expect from a rouge mage. He wore a set of battle scarred gunmetal grey armor which covered his shoulders, chest, back, torso, thighs and shins. Underneath the armor he wore black cargo pants tucked into a pair of well used combat boots and a black long sleeved shirt which he kept rolled up at his elbows. The appearance was completed with a pair of black combat gloves that had armor plating on it.

He was intimidating to say the least.

Erza could feel Deathwings aura slowly rise out of him like a cold finger running up and down her spine but steeled herself none the less.

"You know why we have come here?" Erza asked.

"I've known for a long time."

Erza's eyes squinted faintly.

"How so?'

"Your guild is one of the strongest in the land…it's only natural that the King would ask for your help in this mater…though I do say I'm disappointed…I was expecting more of a challenge in a one on one duel, considering the great Erza Scarlet was sent to fight me. I do not know who the two kids are." Deathwing said as he looked Wendy and Romeo in the eyes with his cold green eye.

Wendy shivered while Romeo swallowed hard. Only Erza remained unperturbed and slowly shifted into a combat stance.

"…Mikhail Deathwing, I, Erza Scarlet am placing you under arrest by order of the King of Fiore. You are to stand down at once and are to be taken in to immediate custody by the Capital Guard."

Deathwing held Erza's glare before standing himself.

It was then that Erza noticed that Deathwing had a halberd strapped across his back. From it, he unsheathed a large, well-crafted two handed claymore broadsword.

"I'm afraid I can't do that Miss Scarlet."

"Failure to comply will result in the use of lethal force." Erza said as Romeo and Wendy prepared to strike.

"If it is force you want, it is force you shall get." Deathwing said as he snapped his fingers. A series massive explosions rocked the square, sending debris and even people flying in all directions. Those who survived the surprise attack instantly ran away for their lives, screaming in terror.

Erza, Wendy and Romeo were thrown off balance by the sudden cacophony of screaming and explosions. Deathwing seized the opportunity bolted forward with unprecedented speed. He was faster than Erza had anticipated and she barely had time to bring her sword to bear. With a resounding clash of metal, the swordsman and swordswoman clashed.

The two stood still for a moment, their blades grinding against each other before Deathwing pushed forward with immense strength. Erza though pushed back, found her footing and swung her blade in a diagonal strike. Deathwing blocked the attack by flipping his sword so the flat side of the blade took the hit before slashing at Erza.

Romeo and Wendy had recovered from Deathwing's blitz on Erza and instantly moved to help.

"Purple Fire!" Romeo called out as said ball of flame formed in his hands. Romeo hurled the fire balls at Deathwing but watched in shock as not only did he dodge the fire but parried at strike from Erza at the same time.

"Kid, you're going to have to do better than that." Deathwing said as he leaped away from Erza and onto one of the higher steps that led to the fountain.

"Destruction Magic: Small Bomb." Deathwing said as he stomped his foot on the ground. A piece of stone was instantly dislodged from the ground and flew up to arm level. Deathwing punched the rock and it flew at Romeo, glowing a brilliant red. Romeo dodged the attack but was thrown back by the concussive blast when the rock exploded on impact where he'd just been standing.

"Romeo!" Wendy called out.

Romeo landed on his feet and regained his stance.

"I'm alright just focus on him!"

Wendy faced Deathwing with a glare.

"Sky Dragon's Roar!" Wendy said as the massive wind tunnel began to form. With a deep breathe, Wendy blew with all her might. The hurricane grade wind tunnel hit Deathwing who barley dodged the attack. Using her own attack as a distraction Wendy turned to Erza who equipped her Purgatory Armor.

"Erza," Wendy cried out, "Fast wind that run the heaven…ARMS AND ARMOR VERNIER!"

The magic circle instantly appeared beneath Erza. Using her already enhanced strength, Erza kicked off the ground and flew at Deathwing, reaching him in seconds. Erza raised her sword and slammed it down on Deathwing who blacked the attack. As soon as the blades connected, a massive crater formed beneath Deathwing's feet, pushing him into the earth. But Erza wasn't finished. With her double enhanced speed, Erza gut punched Deathwing out of the crater and sent him sky rocketing into the air; where Wendy was waiting.

"Sky Dragon's Claw!" Wendy yelled as she slammed her foot into Deathwing, sending him back to earth. Deathwing landed in a small crater and Romeo, who had been watching the fight, took action.

"Red Flame!" Two blazing red balls of fire formed in Romeo's hands which he slammed together causing a jet of flame to blast out at Deathwing. The rush of air combusting followed by a massive blast of flame and heat soon followed.

Wendy and Erza quickly rejoined him.

"Romeo, that was amazing." Wendy said as she gleefully embraced Romeo in a tight hug.

The blushing fire mage smiled in turn.

"Just something Natsu taught me, nothing much."

Erza nodded with a smile.

"You did well Romeo, your father will be proud to here of this and-", Erza stopped midway through her sentence and spun around towards Deathwing as a powerful aura began to radiate from the fire. The flames soon disappeared to reveal what appeared to be a glowing blue shield. The shield was rapidly pulsating and from behind it, the tree mages watched the swordsmen slowly rise, his armor and parts of his hair singed. The shield disappeared and Deathwing sent the mages a glare that said it all:_ . ._

Deathwing wiped the corner of his mouth and gave a rueful smile as he saw the crimson streak on his knuckle plate.

"It's been a while since I've seen my own blood."

Deathwing cracked his neck.

"I admit that was quite the attack you three pulled there," Deathwing said as he casually swept some dirt off his shoulder, "but I think it's time I stopped screwing around and showed you three what I'm really capable of."

The air suddenly grew thick and heavy as Deathwing projected his aura. Wendy and Romeo suddenly gasped for air and fell to their knees as the massive amount of killing intent hit them. Erza felt the familiar tingle of fear run up her spine.

Deathwing took in a deep breath before raising his sword.

"Chaos Beam."

And with those words, a red beam of destructive energy shot from the sword.

"Get behind me!" Erza cried out as her Adamantine Armor appeared just in the nick of time.

The red beam of death (which would make a certain orange haired Vasto Lorde nod his head in approval) hit with cataclysmic force. Anything that stood before the beam of instantly destroyed as it tore through two city blocks of Crocus. When the smoke cleared, Deathwing calmly walked up to the mages.

The sight before him was grim but Deathwing could have cared none the less. Erza's armor had fallen to pieces the moment the beam had stopped. Her body and what remained of her armor was badly burnt and she laid face down, panting for air. Romeo and Wendy were in similar shape. Though they had survived the blast, their clothes had been scorched to tatters and there were multiple burn marks on their bodies. Wendy's once long flowing hair and been badly burnt and would need to be properly cut later. The two groaned in pain and struggled to move as Deathwing approached.

Romeo defiantly raised his hand in an attempt to fight back only for Deathwing to grasp his wrist and violently break his arm as if it were a twig. It took a second, but when the pain registered with Romeo, his screams echoed throughout the square. Wendy was pulled up by what was left of her hair and was promptly punched in the gut with enough force that she explosively gasped out in pain while blood shot out from her mouth. Deathwing dropped her in a heap as she feebly clutched her stomach, crying in pain as she did so. Deathwing finally turned to Erza. Flipping her over with his boot, Deathwing raised his sword with both hands, tip pointing down.

"W-why?" Erza hissed through a labored breath.

Deathwing paused and lowered his blade to his side. He knew what she was asking.

"Without chaos, there can be no order and without order there can be no chaos." Deathwing stated.

"Ever since the end of the Grand Magic Games, the balance of power in the world has begun to slightly shift and change. I was hired for my unique skills to help shift that balance in my employers favor; also figured that my affinity for chaos would also keep me tied to the job. So I accepted the offer, rounded up some strays that shared a common interest and headed for the capital. If I was going to help spread chaos, what better place to start than the source of order in Fiore."

Deathwing raised his sword back above his head.

"You fought well Erza Scarlet. For that, I will give you a warrior's death."

Deathwing was about to plunge his sword into Erza when a flash of yellow light sped past him and with it, Erza.

The figure inside the light stopped a good distance from Deathwing as he gently but protectively held Erza in his arms. A woman with long pink hair soon landed next to him, having grabbed Romeo and Wendy when Deathwing was distracted.

The haze of pain began to clear from Erza's eyes and her savior, who had once been a blur, came into focus.

Erza, despite the pain, gasped in shock.

"_J-Jellal!?"_

XXXX

_**With Igneel and Lilly**_

"Hold still and die already!" Myerson yelled as Igneel and Lilly simultaneously dodged another blood attack. Myerson's once ever present grin had turned into a furious snarl.

"Graaaahhhh," Myerson yelled as he sent another blood whip at the siblings, "this was fun before but now _you're just really pissing me off!_"

"Sorry freak but we ain't in the habit of dying," Lilly said as she dodged the whip, "but you on the other hand…" Lilly ran up to Myerson with surprising speed, spun around once while raising her right elbow and nailed Myerson square in the jaw sending him flying and into a building.

"Nice one sis!" said Igneel.

"I learned from the best." Lilly said as she cracked her knuckles.

"Ready to let me have a turn?"

Lucy gestured at the smoke cloud.

"He's all yours."

Igneel smirked.

"Be ready on my word."

"Gotcha."

"Teleportation!" Igneel said as he disappeared in a flash of light.

While the exchange had happened, Natsu and Lucy could only stare with their mouths agape at the two new mages. Moments earlier the two had been saved from certain death by the two mages who claimed to be _their_ children.

"_I…I don't…I can't believe it."_ Lucy thought as she looked at Lilly.

"_How can she be my daughter, how can she be Natsu's daughter…how can she be __**our**__ daughter!?"_

Lucy was afraid to admit it, but the more and more she had watched Lilly move, act and talk, the more she believed that she was looking at her future daughter. It also didn't help that Lucy's now awakened maternal instincts had instantly established an attachment to Lily.

"_And that boy…he looks exactly like Natsu."_

Yes, if one were to take away the glasses and the fringe covering his forehead, Ingeel could pass as a clone for his father.

"But how can this be?" Lucy whispered.

"NATSU, LUCY!" a voice cried out.

The two instantly turned around to be tackled by Happy, who had left his safe spot.

"You're alright, you're alright!" Happy said as he held onto the mages for dear life, "I thought that scary guy was going to kill you!" Tears of joy spilled down from the Exceed's eyes.

Natsu and Lucy hugged Happy back before letting him go.

"What happened back there, who are those guys?"

Happy said as he watched Lilly from afar.

"We…we don't know." Natsu said, his shock still apparent.

"They said they were our children…they said they were mine and Natsu's children." Lucy said in equal disbelief.

"WHAT!?" Happy cried out, "But you and Natsu don't even like each other and-Hey, where'd she go!?" Happy said as he scratched his head in confusion. Natsu and Lucy turned around to see that Lucy had disappeared.

"She…she was there a second ago." Natsu said.

XXXX

Myerson pushed a large slab of concrete off of him before standing. He flinched in pain as he did so. Pain was something he wasn't really accustomed to. He was used to giving it, not receiving it. The attacks from those two punks were starting to get to him.

"I'm getting real tired of this shit." Myerson hissed in anger.

"_You and me both." _Said a voice from behind Myerson.

Myerson spun around and received a punch made of hard light to the face. As Myerson hit the ground, Igneel hopped off the ruble while he twirled his hard light Tonfa's in his hands.

Myerson stood up and glared at Igneel.

"That's quite the trick you got there buddy boy."

Igneel smirked and braced his Tonfa against his forearms.

"You haven't seen anything yet."

Igneel dashed forward and began to strike at Myerson who countered with his arms. The tonfa connected with Myerson's hard skin and series of meaty "thwacks" echoed out with each blow. This exchange went on for a minute before Myerson suddenly grabbed Igneel's wrists, holding him in place.

"GOTTCHA NOW YOU LITTLE BRAT!" Myerson screamed in glee as a blood blade shot out from his stomach and impaled Igneel.

Natsu and Lucy gasped in horror while Myerson began cackling madly.

Igneel's face was one of shock before he began to…laugh?

Myerson cocked his head.

"What's so funny?"

"Igneel" suddenly burst into motes of light.

"WHAT!?" Myerson yelled.

"A clone…made from hard light." Lucy whispered in disbelief.

Myerson heard the clatter of feet but before he could turn around, a blade of hard light was rammed through his back and out his chest. Igneel then swung around Myerson and swept his feet out from under him. Flat on his back and stunned from the attacks, Myerson failed to react in time as Igneel formed multiple hard light blades and proceeded to nail Myerson to the ground through his arms and legs.

Myerson began struggling while Igneel hopped back to Natsu and Lucy.

"WHEN I GET OUT OF HERE YOU ARE SO DEAD! YOU HEAR ME; DEAD!" Myerson raged as he frantically tried to pull against the blades.

Igneel said nothing as he placed his hands on the ground.

"Lilly, let it rip." Igneel said as his hands began to glow.

"YEEEEEEHAAAAAAWWWW!" Lilly cried out.

Natsu and Lucy looked up in time to see Lilly use a jet of flame to propel herself high into the air off the top of a nearby building.

She spun once in the air before engulfing her hands in two separate flames of fire; one a fiery orange the other a volcanic black.

"Got your one way ticket to hell tight here!" Lilly called out.

"That's…!" Natsu cried out.

"Shield!" Igneel said as a barrier of light surrounded him, Natsu, Lucy and Happy.

"DRAGON GOD'S BRILLIANT FLAME!" Lilly cried out and slammed her fists together.

The destructive blast flew from Lilly's hands and showed no signs of stopping as it sped for Myerson.

Myerson, who had been frantically struggling against the blades, did so with renewed vigor. But as the flames of destruction closed in on him, the blood mage could only do one thing: scream in terror. Myerson howled louder and louder as the flames engulfed and subsequently vaporized him in flash and explosion of light.

The crazed blood mage had been defeated.

As the smoke cleared, Igneel dispersed his shield, stood up and walked a couple of paces forward, arms extended.

"Look out below!" Lilly called out gleefully.

Igneel smiled and easily caught his sister. He then let her get on her own feet as she dusted off her skirt.

"That…was satisfying." Lilly said as she and her brother high fived.

"You did good sis. But we need to link up with the others now."

"That's right. Saito should have found his folks by now and Sam and Jenny should be…"

A sudden explosion to their right caught their attention as a large wall of ice erupted out of the ground. The ice shattered and Sam and Jenny ran out followed close behind by Gray and Juvia.

"…meeting up with us as we speak." Igneel finished.

The two groups ran up to each other.

"You alright boss?" Sam asked as he and Igneel shook hands.

"Could have been worse..." Igneel looked over Sam's shoulder, "looks like you found your folks."

Sam looked back at Gray and Juvia, and gave a small smile.

"Yeah, they're still trying to wrap their heads around the idea."

"What about Saito and Senna?" Jenny asked as she and Lilly approached.

"Saito should be busy with his parents and I think Senna should be finding hers any minute now."

"Oi, who's this Senna and Saito you keep talking about and who are you two supposed to be any way?" Natsu asked as he observed the two newcomers that had come with Gray and Juvia.

"We'll explain later. Right now we need to find Erza Scarlet and Jelllal Fernandes."

"Jellal!? What's he doing here, and what does this have to do with Erza!?" Lucy asked, her mind raced at the sudden turn of events.

"We'll explain later," Igneel said pointedly,"but for now we have to go." Igneel made to turn but Natsu grabbed his shoulder.

"We're not going anywhere until you give us damn answers."

Igneel turned and faced his father. Natsu was a little unnerved by how similar he and Igneel looked alike.

"Look…we can both stand here and talk while one of our guild mates is in danger or we can discuss this later and take action. Which one do you want?"

Natsu let go of Igneel's shoulder as a conflicted look crossed his face. He slowly clenched and unclenched his fists before sighing in resignation.

"Fine…we'll play it your way…for now."

XXXX

Jellal Fernandes glared at Deathwing as he protectively held Erza close to him.

"And who might you be?" Deathwing asked as he observed the blue haired mage.

"I am Jellal Fernandes, member of Crime Sorcière. You on the other hand are Mikhail Deathwing, the leader of the rouge group Pain."

"Ah, I remember who you are now. You're reputation precedes you."

"J-Jellal…w-what are y-you d-doing here?" Erza asked through her pain induced haze.

Jellal looked down at Erza and gave her a comforting smile.

"Don't speak. Just rest for now."

Jellal set Erza down on the ground with as much care that he could muster.

"Meredy, please take care of Erza and the kids…I'll handle him."

"Right." The pink haired mage replied and moved over to Erza as Jellal slowly advanced towards Deathwing.

"Yes, what are you doing here? I have no quarrel with you...but if you interfere, you will force my hand."

"We were just passing through and I heard there was a rouge group causing trouble hear. I did some asking around and found out you may be involved. Then today I heard there was a Fairy Tail team here hunting you down. I just followed the first signs of fighting and here we are."

Jellal looked back at Erza.

"You hurt someone very special to me and for that I will make you pay."

"Will you now?" Deathwing challenged.

Jelllal summoned up his Heavenly Body Magic and smirked.

"Watch me; Meteor."

Jellal bolted forward faster than Deathwing could react and delivered a fierce punch to Deathwing's chest. Deathwing went flying backwards and Jellal rounded on him and slammed him to the ground.

Jellal landed away from Deathwing as said mage stood up.

"That's quite the talent you got there."

"You haven't seen anything yet; Heavenly Arrows!" Jellal said as seven beams of light flew from his hands.

Deathwing dodged five of the beams and deflected the other two with his sword. He then pointed his index and middle fingers of his free hand at Jellal.

"Chaos Lance." A thin, rectangular beam or red light shot from the fingers and sped at Jellal. Jellal dodged but was shocked when the beam redirected itself back at him in a zigzag pattern.

"Damn!" Jellal grunted out and used Meteor to avoid the beam. No matter where he went, the beam followed.

"_I need to get rid of that thing."_ Jellal said as he hopped from building to building.

An idea suddenly struck him and stopped in his tracks. The beam sped towards him and just as it was about to strike, Jellal ducked and the beam imbedded itself in the stone behind him. Jellal stood up and glared at Deathwing.

"Heavenly Beams." Several beams of light flew from Jellal and impacted where Deathwing had been standing only for the Chaos Mage to dodge the attacks. However, Jellal had foreseen this. As soon Deathwing was in position, he unleashed his next attack.

"Grand Chariot."

Deathwing looked up just in time to be struck by the rain of devastating magic bolts from the seven seals Jellal had summoned. But Jellal wasn't finished.

"Dark Ray." A black beam of darkness shot out from Jellal's hand and impacted where Deathwing had been hit. He had avoided using his Dark Magic but with Deathwing he wasn't taking any chances. Jellal leapt down from the building and landed near Meredy.

"Let's get out of here and get these three to safety."

Meredy nodded and was in the process of picking up Romeo and Wendy when they heard and ominous laugh come from the rubble. The two watched as a battered Deathwing stepped out of the crater Jellal had created. Deathwing's armor around his chest plate and shoulders had been badly damaged and the mage proceed to pull a series of release tabs that loosened the armor and let them fall to the ground.

"Bravo boy, bravo", Deathwing said as he clapped his hands slowly, "you gave me a run for my money there."

The air around Deathwing suddenly shifted and Jellal felt a massive surge of power course through Deathwing's body.

"It's time I showed you all the full extent of my power."

A series of markings that resembled zigzagging tattoo's appeared on Deathwing's uncovered skin.

"I may be a Chaos mage, but there is one thing about me that gives me even greater power than that."

Deathwing's aura was now visible and it flared in a spectacular display of darkness.

"Tell me boy…do you have what it takes to fight a _**Chaos Dragon Slayer?**_"

Jellal and Meredy's eyes widened in shock and before either could react, Deathwing stood before them. He backhanded Meredy and then slammed his open palm into Jellal's chest in one fluid motion. Jellal who was sent flying back was suddenly grabbed from behind and thrown to the ground by Deathwing. The force of the impact caused Jellal to instantly begin coughing up blood before Deathwing slammed his foot down on Jellal's stomach causing even further damage. Deathwing removed his foot and stepped back as Jellal unsteadily rose to his feet only for a blinding pain to grip his body as his back suddenly became sliced open. Before he could cry out, another slash cut his chest with a series of follow up attacks to his arms and legs. Deathwing was using his Dragon Slayer magic and sword to cut Jellal at impossible speeds; speeds he couldn't avoid.

Brought to his knees, Jellal could only gasp for breath as Deathwing approached him and leveled the tip of his sword at the base of his throat.

"And now…you die."

Deathwing pulled his blade back ready to thrust.

_**"J-Jellal!"** _Erza and Meredy screamed.

Fate, however, decided to once again intervene.

Before Deathwing could so much as move a muscle in his arm, an armored fist came out of nowhere and delivered a blindsiding and powerful punch to his face. Deathwing was sent flying end over end as the newcomer landed in front of Jellal.

She was a tall woman with a slim but athletic build. Her aquamarine blue hair had natural, scarlet red highlights in it and was tied up into an elegant bun with two black chopsticks holding it in place. She had dark, amber colored eyes that seemed to almost glow with strength and subtle anger. Beneath and above her right eye was an intricate but elegant black tattoo. Her lips were set in a firm line as she slowly adjusted her stance. Her body was covered from neck to toe in a simple set of armor that was beautiful in its simplicity, while a skin tight bodysuit hugged her from beneath the armor plating. In her hands she wielded a long bladed Katana sword which was engraved with the kanji for "Family, Strength, and Honor."

Deathwing rose to his feet and observed the newcomer as he wiped some blood from his mouth.

"Another one, eh? Tell me, who might you be?"

The girl angled her blade so that the tip was pointed at Deathwing.

"I am Senna Fernandes; daughter of Jellal and Erza. Member of Fairy Tail…and _you_ are my enemy."

XXXX

A/N: And cut; that's a wrap people! Sorry again for this taking so long. I wanted to post this yesterday but it got late and I was tired so yeah…go figure. I'll start the next chapter ASAP but until then, please leave a review and ask any questions you have; I'll be happy to answer them.

Until next time, happy reading!


	5. Chapter 5

A/N: What's this…another update!? Hello everyone and welcome back; and before you say anything, no, I'm not dead…sorry for the late update…_**again**_. So my midterm came to pass but I have two new writing essay's I need to work on; oh joy *sarcasm w/ eye roll*. Things are getting busy again so it's hard to say when I'll be able to update. I love working on this story but my education comes first so I may have to make some sacrifices here and there…oh well, c'est la vie. And now a shout out to you guys:

_**-4fireking**_**: **I'm glad you like my story. I know I said I'd write a review for you soon but I've been a little busy. Rest assured, I will read one of your stories as soon as I can and I will post a review for it. I promise.

_**-Sesshomaru'sCrazygal:**_ Why does everyone nearly die when they see this updated? Is it really that good?*Embarrassed smile* I'm glad you like this story, I intend to continue on with this till it ends.

_**-PandaGirl: **_As always, welcome back. I can't tell you how flattered I am to know that you think my story is almost as good as the anime. It means a lot to me; it really does. As for Saito being good looking, I guess that's a girl thing; seeing as how I'm a guy I wouldn't know, BUT, I get what you're saying none the less. He does take after Gajeel after all.

_**-Tomoyo10798: **_Welcome! I'm glad you like this.

Now, onto other matters; taking creative liberties.

In the spirit of things, I've decided to bring some music into the mix here. Like any good anime, there needs to be an OPENING and ENDING theme. And the characters need some themes as well. Below are my main OC characters with their respective theme/themes (standard theme/battle theme). I hope you enjoy the music and feel free to play the song(s) when you think they might fit in! _**DISSCLAIMER: I DO NOT, I REPEAT, DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE MUSIC/VIDEOS LISTED BELOW. THE MUSIC/VIDEOS BELONG TO THEIR RESPECTIVE OWNERS; THIS IS FOR ENTERTAINMERNT/FAN FICTION PURPOSES ONLY.**_

_**-OP Theme:**_ watch?v=VQt7tyCt8Ds

_**-Ending Theme:**_ watch?v=pFLIRALesjs

_**-Igneel Dragneel:**_ watch?v=FIya0fxY93o

_**-Lilly Dragneel:**_ watch?v=OTLzWGIL-iI /

_**-Sam Fullbuster:**_ watch?v=MjwFe6okyUw / watch?v=Uu4emT6btH4

_**-Jenny Fullbuster:**_ watch?v=hKCGBv65w_M / watch?v=0DtBVRdVbMs

_**-Chiara Fullbuster:**_ watch?v=8aOrhl1O1nU

_**-Saito Redfox:**_ watch?v=X-2yuGgp_U8

_**- Senna Fernandes:**_ watch?v=dcJUNajLMYA / watch?v=k_ZMmEFA4Q0

I hope the music is fitting for each character. If you like it, or, want to make alternative suggestions for a theme, just let me know in your review.

But for now, let's begin.

XXXX

CHAPTER 5: Final Confrontation

The air was tense as Senna Fernandes stared down Deathwing from the end of her katana. She stood poised with her right foot forward, knees slightly bent and elbows angled as she held her sword in a horizontal stance. Her glaring eyes never left her target as she calmly inhaled and exhaled through her nose.

Deathwing in turn held his broadsword at his side as he regarded the blue haired swordswoman with curios interest. She claimed to be the daughter of the two mages he sparred with and as hard as he found the claim to be impossible, he couldn't deny the fact that she strongly resembled Jellal and Erza. She was, for her age, a strikingly beautiful girl. Her hair color, despite the crimson highlights, and tattoo were similar to Jellal, but she looked more Erza. The only difference was that she shared both her mother's and father's eyes; the two brown's having formed a unique amber and chocolate brown mix that possessed an age of someone who was more matured and experienced than they let on…the eyes of a warrior.

"I find your claim to be highly unlikely." Deathwing said as he finally broke the silence," Tell me young lady, _who are you really?_"

Senna let a small smile grace her features, the corners of her mouth just turning up slightly.

"I am who I am. I care not whether you do or don't believe me."

Senna looked back at Jellal and Erza, the former of the two was being attended to by Meredy. The two mages eyes met the swordswoman's gaze and they instantly felt a strange connection to the girl make itself known from the back of their minds. Senna gave another small smile before fixing her gaze back on Deathwing; her glare returned.

"All that matters now is you and me. You tried to kill my parents and for that, I will not forgive you."

Deathwing gave an unamused chuckle.

"You're challenging me? I find that to be unwise. You've seen what I've done to the mages behind you, what makes you think you will not end up like them?"

"Simple."

Senna paused.

"I'm not them."

Before Deathwing could even so much as blink, Senna had burst forward with unprecedented speed; her boots leaving indentations in the cobblestone with each step as her feet glowed with a bright yellow magic. In one fluid motion, Senna switched her blade from horizontal to vertical and struck out with a slash. Deathwing parried the attack but Senna countered by slashing her blade in the direction it had been parried, nearly slicing Deathwing's throat in the process. Deathwing leapt back and Senna followed; her enhanced speed giving her the edge.

"_She's fast!" _Deathwing thought as he brought his sword down on Senna.

Senna ducked from the attack, spun on her left foot before slamming her right foot into Deathwing's stomach, sending him flying. The Chaos Dragon Slayer flew back several meters before colliding with a building. Deathwing recovered quickly however and decided to go on the offensive.

"Destruction Magic: Multiple Bomb Attack!"

Like he had done earlier with Romeo, Deathwing stomped his foot on the ground but instead of one stone rising, multiple pieces of glowing red stone rose from the ground and flew at Senna. Said swordswoman was prepared, however.

"Heavenly Blast!" Senna said as she wiped her free arm back and countered with Jellal's signature attack.

The sphere of magic collided with the makeshift bombs and detonated with tremendous force. The resulting explosion in turn created a large screen of smoke. With the use of his Chaos Dragon strength, Deathwing burst from one side of the smoke in an attempt of catch Senna off guard. The two blades collided however and the two found themselves deadlocked; each blade pushing against each other for dominance.

"I'll hand it to you girl, you're stronger than you look."

Senna smirked.

"I'll take that as a compliment."

Senna suddenly swept her left foot into Deathwing's legs and deftly kicked off him. Senna then back flipped high into the air and landed atop the steps of the fountain, a good distance away from Deathwing.

"I think it's time I showed you what I am capable of."

Senna brought her sword before her as her body began o glow with light. The sword hovered before her as the kanji inscriptions glowed before seemingly come off the blade, enlarged now, and wrapped themselves around Senna's body.

Erza, whose eye's never left Senna, gasped as she recognized what was happening to Senna.

"That magic…it can't be!"

"Requip: The Knight." Senna said as a set of new armor formed on her body," Heaven's Wheel Armor."

The light instantly faded as the armor seemingly appeared out of thin air on Senna's body. Erza could only gawk in amazement. This girl, a girl that claimed to be her child, had the ability to use her style of magic.

"It…it just can't be."

Erza did notice that Senna's Heaven armor did differ from her own.

Though her hair was still tied up, a helm framed Senna's face and forehead with a T-shaped visor that left her eyes, nose and mouth exposed while curving back to cover her ears in a wing shaped head piece. Her neck was exposed but a bikini style armored chest piece covered her well-developed bust while her forearms and hands were armored. Her upper abdomen and naval were exposed though a piece of armor contoured to her sides much like a one piece bathing suit. Instead of a long and flowing skirt, two billowing pieces of cloth were attached to her waist armor and were tucked into her knee armor which in turn were joined with her armored boots and shin guards. The armor was completed by two wings that seemed to glow in the day light.

It was a stunning display to say the least.

Senna retrieved her sword as one hundred different swords flashed into existence.

"Now it's my turn." Senna said as she grabbed another sword near her. "Blumenblatt."

Senna charged forward and struck out with her dual wielded swords. Deathwing, despite his own strength, found it hard to counter Senna's attacks. Senna suddenly swooped around him and Deathwing found himself attacked by the ninety nine remaining swords as they flew in unison at Deathwing. Deathwing dodged, weaved and deflected the swords that he could but the ones he didn't were able to slice or scratch at him. When the barrage ended, Senna landed on the ground as Deathwing panted and glared at her.

"_You." _Deathwing snarled, _"You insolent little bitch!"_

Senna held her ground as Deathwing flared his aura, his Dragon Slayer power becoming visible as dark purple wisps of energy swirled around him. Deathwing pointed his sword at Senna and took a familiar stance.

"_That stance; he's going to-!"_ Erza thought as her chest clenched in fear, "Get out of there; GET OUT OF THERE!" Erza screamed.

"Chaos Bea-" Deathwing was cut off, however, when a large pillar of ice shot forth from the ground beneath him. Deathwing jumped back in time to see three newcomers leap from a nearby rooftop.

"WHAT!?"

Senna smirked as Sam, Lilly and Igneel landed next to her.

"You three certainly took your sweet time."

"Sorry about that, we got caught in rush hour traffic." Sam said as he gave Senna a cheeky grin.

"Hmph, smartass." Senna said as she focused her attention back on Deathwing.

"Be careful, he's a Dragon Slayer."

"Wouldn't be the first one we fought." Igneel said as he cracked his knuckles.

"Besides, we've been through worse." Lilly said as she tossed one of her pigtails back over her shoulder.

Senna simply nodded in response. "What's the plan Igneel?"

"Simple…we hit him until he stays down."

XXXX

While the four mages dealt with Deathwing, Jenny turned her attention to the wounded as Natsu, Lucy, Gray, Juvia and Happy gathered next to their fallen comrades.

"Can you help them?" Lucy asked Jenny in a deeply worried tone as she gently held Romeo as he writhed in pain from his shattered arm.

Jenny nodded as she placed her palms on the ground while sitting cross-legged.

"I can but I must have absolute concentration to do so. Please, place the wounded next to each other but stay near me"

Jenny took a deep breath and exhaled slowly as a large bubble of water formed around the group.

"Regenerating Bubble." Jenny mumbled as she closed her eyes.

The waters healing properties immediately took effect as the wounded mages injuries began to disappear, but curiously, at a much slower rate.

"Why can't you heal them like you did us?" Gray asked as he watched in morbid fascination as Romeo's arm began to fix itself into its natural shape and position. It was a slow process, but if Romeo felt anything, he didn't show it.

"Your injuries were not as severe as theirs. In order for the wounds to be properly mended, I must slowly heal the wounds…now if you don't mind dad, I need you to be quiet."

Gray flinched slightly when he heard Jenny use the word "dad."

Nearby, the fighting between Deathwing and the four mages began to escalate and a large piece of rock was blasted out of the ground in the process. It went careening towards the protective bubble as the group beneath it watched in horror as it grew closer and closer.

"Look out!" Natsu cried out only to gawk in amazement as not only did the bubble deflect the rock, it shattered it to pieces.

Jenny's brow twitched as she gritted her teeth.

"So long as I concentrate, the bubble will form a protective barrier. However, with each attack, I feel it take a bit out of my magic. I won't be able to hold it forever but it's better than nothing."

The mages in the bubble could only stare at Jenny in awe as they watched her go about her work. It was obvious to everyone present that they were in the presence of a truly gifted mage.

"**Look out below!" **A voice called out of nowhere.

The mages looked up, while Jenny smiled slightly, in time to see a black clad figure land near the bubble, the ground cratering slightly beneath the force of his landing due to his still active Dragon Skin. Saito rose from his crouched stance, Gajeel and Levy balanced on one arm and shoulder, and surprisingly, Leila held in his other arm. Saito stepped forward and into the bubble, taking care to gently lay his charges on the ground.

"Levy-chan!" Lucy cried out and went to her friend's side. Levy was barely conscious but managed to squeeze Lucy's hand.

It was then that the remaining group members noticed Leila.

"Hey, she's one of those Pain guys!" Natsu snarled.

Jenny, though her eyes were closed, frowned slightly as her brow crinkled.

"Care to explain?" She asked Saito.

"**It's a long story, I'll fill you in later. She's not bothering anyone at the moment so keep an eye on her will you please."**

Saito then turned around and stepped out of the bubble.

"Wait, where are you going!?" Natsu asked.

Saito looked over his shoulder. Even though he couldn't see Saito's face, his glowing red eye's crinkled slightly in a manner one does when they're smirking.

"**To join my **_**nakama**_**; where else?"**

With those words, Saito ran towards his comrades.

Natsu was about to call out to him when a voice cut him off.

"WENDY!"

The group looked up to see Carla and Pantherlily flying towards the bubble. Within seconds of landing, the two exceed were at their partners sides. Carla gripped Wendy's hand as the barely conscious girl let out pained grunt while Pantherlily stood protectively near Gajeel and Levy as he eyed Jenny with visible suspicion.

"What happened, we heard the fighting from the other side of the city and raced here as soon as we could." Pantherlily asked.

"And who's she?" Carla asked as she narrowed her eyes at Jenny.

"Carla, 'Lily, you guys aren't going to believe this but that's Gray's daughter!" Happy said in his usual ecstatic voice.

"WHAT!?" The two cats said in unison as they gave Gray a wide eyed stare.

"You wouldn't believe me if I told you." Gray said as he defensively held up his hands.

_**"WOULD EVERYBODY KINDLY SHUT THE HELL UP AND LET ME THINK!"**_ Jenny roared as her eye's, jaw and forehead clenched in in anger, as a large red tick mark pulsed rapidly against her head.

Needless to say, things got rather quiet rather quickly.

XXXX

"Yikes!" Sam exclaimed as he ducted back from Deathwing's blade, the point of the sword just barely missing his throat.

"Careful Sam, one wrong move and I might not be able to patch you back up." Igneel warned as he deflected a strike with his hard light tonfa.

"Yeah, no shit!" Sam said as he formed his ice sword and parried another attack.

"We can't hold him off like this, he's getting too close!" Senna said as she tried to strike at Deathwing, who dodged her attack.

"**Then let me handle that!" **a voice called out.

Saito leapt high into the air as he drew his right fist back.

"**Dragon Strength: Seismic Slam!" **Saito roared as the runes on his arms glowed a brilliant blue. The three mages leapt away from Deathwing just as Deathwing noticed the newcomer. Deathwing leapt back but not before Saito's fist met the ground. The ground simply collapsed in on itself before it exploded in a massive blast of stone and sand. Deathwing was sent flying and before he could recover, Igneel leapt through the smoke his eyes glowing blue.

"Take this!"

Igneel brought his now glowing hands before him as a beam of pure white energy flew from his palms.

"Shock Blast!"

Deathwing was hit square in the chest and was sent back to earth. As soon as he impacted, Sam placed his hands on the ground.

"Ice Make: Prison."

The cage formed around Deathwing's crater but the five mages kept their distance.

"Think we got him?" Lilly asked.

The ground began to shake as a massive pressure wave flared from the cage causing it to shatter. Deathwing rose from the ground as a waves of dark energy radiated off his body. His tattoo's had increased in their intricacy while his eyes had turned white. He threw his head back and let out a roar of unbridled anger.

"**Nope." **Saito simply said.

"What's the plan Igneel?" Senna asked as she readied her sword.

Igneel fixed the Chaos Dragon Slayer with a hard glare. He then looked at Lilly with a familiar look and the two mages nodded in silent agreement.

Igneel reached into a small, leather pouch on his belt while Lilly removed a necklace from her undershirt. In their hands, the two each held a beautifully crafted key. One was made of the purest sterling silver while the other was made from white and blue _diamond_. The two keys, once they were combined, looked like a shield with two crossed swords behind it. Igneel and Lilly stood at arm's length before extending their hands so that the tips of the keys locked together. A surge of energy and light filled the area when the two keys connected.

XXXX

Down in the healing bubble, the remaining mages immediately felt the power generated by the meeting of the two keys.

Lucy's head snapped in the direction of the energy and watched as the brilliant display of light and energy swirled about the area. She knew what kind of magic it was; it was a magic she was very familiar with.

"That's…that's Celestial Spirit Magic." Lucy said as she unconsciously took a step or two towards the magic.

Natsu placed his hand on her shoulder, snapping her out of her trance.

"Luce, what are you doing?"

Lucy shook her head to clear it.

"I…I don't know. It's that magic…it means a Celestial Spirit has been summoned."

Natsu frowned.

"Do you recognize it?"

"…No." Lucy said as she returned her gaze back to where the battle was taking place.

"It's a spirit I'm not familiar with…this one is something else entirely."

"This battle is about to come to a close." Jenny said.

"How can you tell?" Pantherlily asked.

"_He's_ been summoned."

XXXX

"Open gate of the Celestial Paladin!" Lilly and Igneel said in unison.

An intricate circle of runes appeared before the two siblings as a figure began to materialize in it. There was a brief flash of light but when it faded, before the two mages stood a man in heavy armor. His face was covered in a protective mask, the only opening being the wide "V" shaped visor that exposed his glowing white eyes. His dark red hair was short but spiky, the bangs covering his forehead. The armor he wore was a polished slate grey and despite how heavy it appeared to be it contoured to his shoulders, forearms, chest, abdomen, and his legs while cloth under suit covered the rest of his body. A White cape with a blue interior hung from his shoulders, the Fairy Tail guild mark clearly marked on the back in a fiery orange. In his left hand he held a large shield that was attached to his forearm while in his right he held a sturdy but intricate claymore sword.

"What is thy bidding my masters?" The Celestial Warrior asked, his calm and composed voice possessing a slight metallic ring to from his mask.

"We need your help Knight." Igneel said.

"So I see." Knight said as he acknowledged Deathwing with a nod of his head. "What do you need me to do?"

"Gear us up." Lilly said.

Knight paused and he slowly looked at Lilly before turning to Igneel.

"…Is he worth it?" Knight said as he cocked his head to the right, his voice filled with underlying caution.

"We wouldn't be asking you if we didn't think it was necessary." Igneel said.

"Igneel, _the last time you used the armor_, it was under…_different_ circumstances."

"Knight, please…we need to end this and end this now."

Knight let out a deep sigh.

"So it would seem."

With a roar of anger, Deathwing chose that moment to burst forward at a faster speed than he had before.

Knight on the other hand, had anticipated this attack and simply swatted Deathwing away with his shield when he got close enough. The resounding "clang" echoed throughout the square. Deathwing was sent flying again but he summersaulted backwards and landed in a crouch, his nose dripping profusely with blood.

"Hmm," Knight hummed, "interesting, if he were a normal man, that attack would have shattered his neck and skull."

"He's a Chaos Dragon Slayer." Senna added in as she continued to watch Deathwing from afar.

"A Dragon Slayer…that's very interesting."

Knight turned his sword in his hand so that that blade was pointed down. He then gripped the swords extended two handed grip with his left hand and slowly raised the blade so that it was chest level.

"By the power granted to me by the Celestial Spirit King, I bestow the power of the Celestial Warrior to the mages of Fairy Tail as arranged by our contract of camaraderie."

A series of glowing white circles formed under Lilly and Igneel. But they were not the only ones who were affiliated with Knight. Three other circles formed under Sam, Senna and Saito. Motes of light began to dance around the mages as Knight's sword began to glow. A rune formed squarely beneath the tip of the blade.

"I hereby," Knight raised the blade," Knight thee!" and plunged it into the rune.

The circles of light flared and the area was filled light. So much so that Deathwing hand to shield his eyes. When the light faded, the five mages and the Paladin still remained in place but they were aesthetically changed.

Igneel and Lilly had now been donned with armor. Lilly's attire was slightly more revealing than her normal clothing. She now wore and armored plate that covered her upper chest and conformed to her bust. Her shoulders were uncovered but her hands, forearms and elbows were covered in armor. Her abdomen was exposed but her short skirt still remained though it had strips of armor attached to it. Armor which ran from her knees to toes completed her look. Her hair, which had been kept into two pigtails, had now been magically tied into a long braid which reached the middle of her back.

Igneel was now without his dress shirt and vest. In its place, an armor plate covered his chest and abdomen, while his arms were sleeveless. A pair of black, heavy gloves covered his hands. His dress pants had been replaced by a pair of black pants which tapered out at the waist but gradually became baggier towards where they had been tucked into his armored, shin high boots. His eyes glowed slightly behind his glasses.

Saito's look hadn't changed much. Though his Dragon Skin was still active, he now wore a red sash wrapped tightly around his waist while a pair of armored shoulder pads were wrapped securely to his arms. The runes that decorated his body were now glowing as well.

Sam and Senna had also received a makeover of sorts. Sam was now clad in a full suit of armor made from ice that radiated brightly in the sun light. His eyes were hidden behind the two slits in his face mask. Senna's Heaven's Wheel Amor had changed drastically. The armor plating had become thicker, this time covering the areas that had been previously exposed. Four, crystal like wings were now behind her back while her nose and mouth were covered by an armored half-mask. Her hair was no longer tied up and it flowed freely, drifting about by an invisible wind.

"Let's finish this." Deathwing called out.

"Let's." Igneel said as he and his camrades bolted forward.

XXXX

The healing bubble faded as Jenny released a long, tired sigh as she stood. The healing process had been complete. Wendy and Romeo stood, the latter helping the Sky Dragon Slayer to her feet. Romeo began to flex and twist his arm amazed that it was no longer broken in the manner that it had been. Wendy felt her hair and finally noticed the damage that had occurred to it.

"I'll fix your hair later. I'm sorry but my magic only treats bodily harm." Jenny said as she placed a comforting hand on Wendy's shoulder.

Jellal helped Erza and Meredy to their feet. However, he did not keep his distance from Erza.

Jenny began to run up the fountain steps, taking them two at a time.

"Where are you going?" Carla asked as she and the others began to follow.

"To the others." Was all Jenny said.

When they reached the top, the group ducked when a large piece of the fountain was suddenly blasted to pieces. A large shard of ice imbedded in it.

"Looks like my crazy brother is pulling out all the stops." Jenny said as she rose to her feet.

The group watched from afar as Deathwing, too simply put it, had his ass kicked.

Sam had made his Freeze Lancer and thanks to the power Knight had given him, he was able to produce more lances than he'd normally would.

Deathwing, dodged and parried but he was quickly being overwhelmed by the onslaught.

Then out of the corner of his eye, to fast or him to dodge, he saw Saito.

"**Dragon's Blade!**" A long sword blade extended from somewhere in his arm and past his knuckles.

With a powerful slash, Saito created a jagged slash across Deathwing's chest. Deathwing, reeling from the attack and began to cough up blood. Senna and knight chose that moment to strike. In a simultaneous motion, the two swords masters sliced their blades down Deathwing's forearms. The attack drew a large flow of blood and caused Deathwing to drop his blade. As Deathwing stumbled to his feet, Lilly, made her move.

Spinning her arms in a circular fashion, a series of flames were generated by the motion.

"Crimson Lotus: Exploding Flame Blade!"

The Celestial enhanced attack struck Deathwing and sent him soaring high into the air.

"Finish him bro!" Lilly said.

Igneel formed two wings of light on his back and launched himself into to air. Soaring past Deathwing Igneel paused and intercepted the Dragon Slayer before he could fall back to earth. Time seemed to freeze as the two locked eyes. Igneel extended his left arm forward while drawing his right arm back and high. He closed all but his pointer and middle finger as two points of light formed at their tips.

"Lightcaster Ultimate Technique: Shock Point."

Igneel, in one fluid motion, rolled his shoulder and arm forward and his extended fingers met Deathwings sternum. A massive shockwave sprung forth from the attack as Deathwing was blasted back to earth, the attack creating a sonic boom in the process.

Deathwing impacted the ground with the kinetic energy that rivaled a bunker buster bomb. The explosion was small but it sent debris and smoke across the square. Igneel slowly descended back to earth and landed near the mouth of Deahtwing's crater. Knight soon stepped next to him.

"It is finished my young master." Knight said as Igneel nodded slowly.

"Indeed it is." Igneel nodded slowly and then looked at knight, extending his hand, "Thank you for your help."

The two shook hands.

"Your thanks is not needed. I was merely performing my duty."

Igneel chuckled.

"Humble as always…you are dismissed."

The Celestial Paladin bowed before disappearing in a flash of light and with him the celestial armor; the mages normal attire returning.

Igneel then looked back at the crater and hopped down into it.

Deathwing lay broken in a pool of his own blood.

He coughed violently before noticing Igneel.

"Damn…" he said as his voice came out in a horse croak, "I hate losing…even more than I hate leaving a job unfinished."

"…You are the one who is finished. I suggest you make your peace before you leave this world."

Deathwing gave Igneel a small, rueful smile as he observed the young Lightcaster. He particularly noticed the strength and confidence in Igneel's eyes.

"My employers…will be furious…when they find out…about this…they will hunt you down."

Igneel knew it would not be long before Deathwing expired and tuned his back to the dying mage.

"I know all too well who your employers are…let them stew in their anger. I'll be ready for them."

"…Such confidence." Deathwing said with a raspy chuckle.

"…I look forward to the day…when that confidence…when your strength…is…_broken_."

And with those words, Mikhail Deathwing passed from the world of the living.

The battle for Crocus had ended.

Igneel did not turn back to the deceased mage. He placed his hands on his hips before closing his eyes with a tired sigh. Cracking his neck, the young mage hopped out of the crater and joined his friends who had now joined up with Jenny's group.

"You did good boss." Sam said as he and Igneel fist bumped.

"Thanks Sam…all of you did an outstanding job today." Igneel said as he addressed the group as a whole.

"We should probably find the Capital Guard; they undoubtedly have questions for us." Senna said.

"Speaking of finding people; where's pipsqueak?" Saito said, his Dragon Skin now gone.

"I'll find her. Jenny, if you would be so kind." Igneel said. Jenny walked over to Igneel and placed her palm on his forehead. Igneel closed his eyes and concentrated.

He was quiet for a minute before smiling.

"There you are; teleport."

There was a flash of light followed by a squeal of joy.

Everyone looked up in time to see a little girl falling from the air. Before anyone could react, Sam extended his arms and caught the child as she began to giggle and laugh.

"Again, Ani-san, again!" The little girl said as she was set on her feet.

"Me and Mister Teddy want to do that again." Chiara Fullbuster beamed as she held up the handmade teddy bear.

Lucy made a mental note as to how the child could pass as a mini Juvia.

She was the height of a typical five year old child, meaning that she was waist high with a little baby fat on her. She had bright blue eyes while her night black hair was tied into a single pony tail that was draped over her shoulder. She wore a little red riding hood style cloak, which was colored blue instead of red, which extended to her knees over a white, short sleeved button down and blue knee length skirt. A pair of black knee socks and kids sneakers completed the look. An interesting aspect of the cloak was that it had been designed with decorative fox ears with white tips on the hood.

The one thought that went through the minds of the girls of the group simply went along the lines of: _**kawaii**_. Luckily, the word had been squealed out in the girls heads, thus sparing the rest of the group from having their ears bleed from the high pitched mind squeals.

"Sorry kiddo, I don't think your big sis would appreciate that." Sam said as Jenny cracked her knuckles threateningly while Chiara pouted by puffing out her cheeks cutely.

It was then that Chiara noticed Gray and Juvia and the little girl let out an excited gasp. Her eyes became wide as a large smile formed on her face.

"Mommy, Papa!" Chiara squealed as she flew at the two mages, tackling them in the process. For one so small she was amazingly strong. (A/N: I think I just made a Phil Collins reference (?))

"Wh-what!?" The two mages exclaimed as the little girl tried to wrap her arms around her parents.

Natsu, who's mind had finally been pushed over the edge by all of the daily and recent events, stomped his foot down and tossed his arms into the air.

"Okay, that's it! Will someone please explain to us just what the hell is going on here!?" The Fire Dragon Slayer roared as sparks flew from his mouth.

"You read my mind exactly." A voice called out.

The group turned to see Captain Tenembaum and a large contingent of guardsmen move up the steps of the fountain and to the group.

"Are you in charge?" Igneel asked.

"I am." Tenembaum said as he observed the boy.

"Do you have somewhere we can speak privately…I have some things I need to discuss with you."

XXXX

A/N: And there you have it people. Whew, that took me longer than I had hoped for. I once again apologize for this being so late but I have a busy schedule. Things are going to get hectic with me next week because A) I have college work I need to focus on and plan out my spring schedule, B) Halloween is this coming Thursday (ONE OF MY FAVORITE HOLIDAYS!) and C) Battlefield 4 and Call of Duty: Ghosts are coming out soon and being the gamer that I am, I preordered a copy of both games…I need to spend some time with my Xbox. I'll try to update when I can but just be patient with me, please and thank you.

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, feel free to leave any questions you have in your review. I wish you all a very happy and safe Halloween and I'll see you guys next time.


	6. Side Story

A/N: Hello everyone! I had some free time on my hands with nothing to do so I figured I'd try my hand at a little side story/interlude chapter here. Since Halloween is just two days away (it was 9:30 PM when I finished and posted this note so it technically still counts as two days) and I love Halloween, I couldn't pass up the opportunity to write something. So, I hope you enjoy this and even though I'll be busy for a little bit, I'll work on the next chapter for Kids ASAP.

So without further ado, let's begin.

XXXX

_**Kid's side story: Halloween**_

HALLOWEEN DAY…YEARS FROM NOW

"Mommy, what are you doing?" Lilly Dragneel asked as she watched her mother, Lucy Dragneel, use a small knife to carve out a large pumpkin. The five year old stood near her mother's leg, a stuffed dragon plushy clutched in her small arms.

"I," Lucy said she adjusted her carving tool at an angle to add the finishing touch, "am carving a Jack-o'-lantern."

"A Jack-o'-lan-tern?" Lilly asked as she tried sounding out the large word.

Lucy looked down at her daughter with a smile.

"You carve out a pumpkin and place a candle or something that glows in it. You make them look silly…or super scary." Lucy said as she spun the pumpkin around quickly, revealing the grinning skull that had been carved into it. Lilly gasped and hid behind her mother's leg. Lucy giggled and spun the lantern back around, placing a small candle in it thus giving it an otherworldly glow.

"…That was scary." Lilly mumbled as she poked her head out from behind her mother's leg.

"That's right sweetie, it's for Halloween."

"Hall-o-ween?" Lilly said as she cocked her head to the side, placing a finger on her chin as she thought.

Lucy giggled as she placed her fingers over her lips. Her daughter was downright adorable when she paused to think.

"Yes, it's a special holiday where for one night you get to dress up as whatever you want and go around with your friends or family and get as much free candy as you want. Or there are some people who play tricks on one another so you never know what you may get…we've been doing this since you were born, you're just too young to remember."

Lilly's eyes practically sparkled as a beaming smile spread across her face.

"Really!? Are we gonna' do that!?" Lilly asked excitedly as her mother nodded.

"Mmhmm," Lucy hummed.

Lilly began to hop around excitedly.

"I want to be a fairy princess!" Lilly cheered excitedly.

"Your father and Igneel should be back any moment with your costumes."

Lucy had a feeling as to what her children would want to be once they understood the concept of Halloween and had asked Natsu to pick out the costumes when he was out running errands for the coming nightly festivities.

"What's this about me and Igneel?" a voice asked as the front door to the roomy apartment opened.

"Daddy!" Lilly said as she ran to meet Natsu while Lucy wiped her hands on her apron.

Natsu and Igneel Dragneel walked through the front door just in time for Natsu to set down some items and scoop up his daughter in his free arm.

"Daddy, daddy, guess what!?" Lilly said excitedly.

"What?" Natsu said as he looked at Lucy with a knowing smile.

"We get to dress up and get candy tonight!" Lilly said as she was let down.

"Really, is that so?" Natsu said, feigning surprise as he walked over and kissed Lucy's forehead.

"Yeah, I want to be a fairy princess." Lilly said as she smiled and spun around on her toes in way the princesses in her favorite stories would.

"Blegh," five year old Igneel stuck out his tongue in disgust at his twin sisters antics, "that's so boring and icky."

Igneel, having been told by Natsu a similar description of what Lilly had been told, had immediately opted for dressing like a Samurai or a Western-esque gunslinger like his uncle Alzack.

"Now, now, Igneel, don't make fun of your sister like that." Lucy said as she gently rubbed her son's hair.

"Why don't you two go try on your costumes to make sure you like them. Your mother and I have to do some last minute setting up before we head out and meet with the others." Natsu said as he handed the appropriate bags to his children.

"Others?" Igneel and Lilly asked in unison.

"That's right I forgot to tell you guys, we'll be trick or treating the Fullbusters, Redfox's and Fernandes's." Lucy said.

"Cool!" the twins said as they looked at each other excitedly but then paused as they looked at their parents in confusion.

"What does trick or treat mean?" Igneel asked.

Natsu let out a deep chuckle while Lucy simply giggled.

"Go try on your costumes, we'll explain later." Natsu said.

The kids nodded excitedly and ran off to their rooms to go try on their costumes.

"Well now, something tells me we'll be in for a memorable evening." Lucy said as she wrapped her slender arms around Natsu's more defined, muscular one and rested her head on his shoulder.

Natsu kissed the top of his wife's head. Despite them both being twenty seven years old, Natsu still had the height factor when it came to his wife. He was at least a head taller than her and he had to tip his head slightly to kiss her.

"Do you mean that as a good thing or as a bad thing?" Natsu said as he gave Lucy a sly smile.

"Oh, I don't know," Lucy said as she leaned up on the tips of her toes, "it could mean many things." Lucy whispered, her warm breathe tickling Natsu's ear.

Natsu felt a very pleasant tingle run up his spine. But before the two could go any further Lucy pulled away from Natsu, her hands behind her back.

"But for now, let's finish up here." Lucy said with a wink and proceeded to set the grocery bags filled with nick-knack and food-stuffs for Halloween.

Natsu took a second to make his heart beat calm down and let a small smile form on his lips. Dear Mavis did he love his wife. He then went over to help Lucy unpack.

XXXX

LATER; HALLOWEEN NIGHT

"Trick or treat!?" Igneel and Lilly asked as they held open their candy bags as wide smiles beamed on their faces. The adult at the door gave a warm smile to the two as he gently tossed two small bars of chocolate into the candy bags.

"Thank you." The twins said as they ran down the steps of the porch back to their parents.

Lilly, was dressed in a light blue princess dress with a small tiara on her head while a small, lightly glittered pair of wings clung to her back. Igneel, had decided to go with the western style look but instead of a pair of six shooters he carried a small plastic samurai sword.

So far the two had been having the time of their lives.

Natsu and Lucy smiled as they watched their children approach. The two had donned the costume of gothic style vampires for this year's Halloween festivities. Natsu had donned a slim, almost form fitting leather trench coat that tapered off at his waist before the rest of the coat flared out and reached his ankles. He wore a pair of black slacks and dress shoes underneath the jacket while his eyes glowed a vibrant red thanks to a special pair of contact lenses and he had even gone so far as to slick his hair back slightly. His naturally sharpened canines completed the look.

Lucy in turn wore a slightly revealing Victorian style dress, which was black like her husbands. The only difference was that a small slit ran up the side of her dress, revealing her shapely legs and strap up heels. Though Lucy's skin pale to begin with, she had added some make up to accentuate her skins paleness thus giving her a supernatural glow. Lucy completed the look by tying her hair up in an intricate bun, adding a pair of similarly glowing red contacts to her eyes and adding fake fangs to her canines.

The two were a sight to behold.

"C'mon you two, we have go meet up with the others now that they've gotten their neighborhoods candy." Lucy said as she let Lilly take her hand.

The family made their way towards the center of Magnolia where they found the rest of their group waiting for them.

"Lu-chan, Natsu-san!" Levy Redfox called out as she waived her hand high in the air. The blue haired mage was dressed, ironically, like a sexy librarian. The two friends gave each other a hug while Natsu and Gajeel shook hands. Gajeel had declined to dress up in any sort of costume but instead had activated his Dragon Skin ability. The charcoal black skin/armor gave off a metallic glow in the moonlight.

"Whoa!" Lilly exclaimed as she noticed five year old Saito Redfox, "Saito you look so cool!"

Saito, who stood close to his father, shyly looked away from Lilly. Like his father, Saito was not in costume, instead he had summoned his own Dragon Skin. It wasn't as powerful as his fathers but the fact that he was able to use the ability was quite the impressive feat.

"T-thank you." Saito said as his father ruffled his hair in a good natured manner.

"We were wondering when you four were going to get here." Said a voice.

Natsu and Lucy looked to see Gray and Juvia Fullbuster with their son and daughter, Sam and Jenny, approach the group. Both Gray and Juvia wore what looked like formal clothing accept for the fact that the outfits were torn here and there and that their faces were painted black and white to resemble skulls. Sam and Jenny on the other hand were different. Jenny, who was two years older than Sam, was dressed like a cat girl while Sam was dressed like a werewolf.

"We could say the same for you Ice sickle head." Natsu said as he and Gray clasped each other's forearms.

"You trying to start something Salamander?" Gray asked, his competiveness beginning to make itself know.

"Now, now you two not in front of the kids." Levy warned.

"Causing trouble already." A feminine voice called out.

The mages turned to see their remaining group members; Jellal and Erza Fernandes with their daughter Senna. Jellal, Erza and Senna were dressed in formal kimonos, Jellal's being blue and white, Erza's red and white and Senna's being white and pink. Each kimono, however, had its own distinctive floral pattern to it.

Natsu and Gray immediately stood down; the two mages draping their arms on each other's shoulders.

"Us, causing trouble, I find that idea to be absurd." Gray said as he nervously rubbed the back of his head. He learned long ago to never anger the crimson haired swordswoman.

While the adults conversed, the children compared costumes and checked out each other's candy bags, each seeing how much they were able to rake in for the evening. Erza however noted that it was getting late and that they all should get some last minute trick or treating in before they went off to the guild hall.

So, that's how the rest of the evening progressed; the kids went from house to house on their way up the street to the guild hall while their parents kept an eye on them from a safe but manageable distance.

"So, you guys enjoying this year's Halloween?" Natsu asked his fellow guys while the girls conversed.

"Indeed…though I found it particularly hard to calm Senna down when I mentioned the prospect of her getting free sweets for the evening." Jellal said as Gajeel snickered.

"What about you man, Saito must've gotten excited about this?" Gray asked.

Gajeel shook his head with a small smile.

"The little twerp was nervous about the whole idea. But shorty managed to convince him he'd have fun and so I helped him get his armor formed."

"He's just going through a shy phase right now, every kid goes through one at some point or another. He'll grow out of it…though, I must say, I would have thought you'd scare it out of him by now." Jellal said while Gajeel gave a good belly laugh at the quip.

"That boy may get nervous, but scared, nah. He's too much like me."

The four mages were silent for a minute.

"I'd never thought in a million years that I'd be doing this." Natsu said as he crossed his arms, looking at the night time sky.

"What, trick or treating with your kids?" Gray asked.

"No…just all of this. Being a husband…a father. I never thought I'd get to this point in my life."

Gajeel, Gray and Jellal nodded in agreement.

"I know what you mean…who knew me and shorty would end up together."

"…Dude, we knew for a while that you two would tie the knot. It was only a matter of time." Natsu said with a sly smirk.

"Oi, like your one to talk Salamander." Gajeel bit back.

Gray chuckled and Natsu turned his gaze to his longtime rival and friend.

"Laugh it up _Gray-sama_, the sexual tension between you and Juvia was starting to drive everyone crazy." Natsu said as Gray balked at the statement.

And so, the banter between the three mages went back and forth (Jellal opted to hold his peace and let things paly out, all the while laughing silently at his friends antics).

Fortunately a brawl was prevented when the kids returned and the group moved onto the guild hall.

When they arrived, they found the annual Halloween party in full swing as guild mates, friends and family all participated in the lively events.

"There you guys are." Wendy called out over the noise as she helped Mirajane bartend. Mirajane balanced a platter of drinks in one hand while her other gently rested on her enlarged belly as she navigated her way through the crowd. The baby was kicking again.

"Are we late?" Lucy called back.

"You're never too late for a party."

The group turned to see a familiar face, though they had to look down somewhat to see him.

"Happy Halloween Master Makarov." The kids said in unison as the former Guild Master gave them a warm smile.

Makarov had retired from his position a few years before the kids had been born and had since passed on the title of Guild Master to his grandson, Laxus. Though he was getting on in years, Makarov still sported his spiky hair and bushy mustache. The only noticeable difference to the man were a pair of small glasses that adorned his eyes.

"A happy Halloween to you too kids, you enjoying your Halloween?"

The children nodded eagerly as they opened up their bags of candy.

"The spoils of war I presume?"

The children smiled and giggled.

"Why don't you go join Kaito and Salina while we adults take a moment talk?"

"Okay." The children said as they went off to an area of the guild that was reserved for the kids.

"Hi guy's what's up?" Kaito Strauss asked, his glasses held in place by his mummy bandages.

"Not much, just getting ready to eat some candy." Igneel said as he sat down with the other kids.

"Oooh, I'll trade ya!" Salina Dreyar said as she began to rummage through her candy bag while adjusting her fake demon horns on her head.

The kids, liking the sound of the idea, began to sort through their own candy bags as they tried to find candy worthy of trading.

"Hey Salina, how long until your mom has the baby?" Jenny asked as she swapped a caramel and chochalate square for a pretzel stick drizzled in white chocolate.

"Two more months but I don't want to wait two months," Salina pouted, "I want my baby sister now!"

"Didn't your mom and dad want it to be a surprise?" Saito asked while he chewed on a piece of salt water taffy.

"My mommy told me the baby is definitely gonna' be a girl," Salina said as she triumphantly crossed her arms, "Daddy doesn't believe her but my mommy knows so." Salina smiled at that logic.

The conversation between the kids went on as they continued to trade candy.

XXXX

The night went on and so did the party. There were games like bobbing for apples, a blindfolded truth or dare session, and a costume contest. Makarov entertained the kids and anyone who decided to listen with ghost stories and other Halloween stories. It was like any other party except for…

"Incoming!"

_CRASH_

"That was my back you ass!"

_POW_

…except for the fact that with Fairy Tail some things never seemed to change. It wouldn't be Fairy Tail without someone starting a fight.

The kids watched with interest as one person after another, whether they be willing or against it, were dragged into the fight.

Elfman Strauss soon found himself flat on his back as the kids looked down at him.

"Hi Dad/Uncle Elfman." Kaito and the others said as Elfman sat up, cracking is neck.

"Having a good time kids?" Elfman asked as he blocked an empty glass without looking at it.

"You kids might want to find cover, this one looks like it'll last a while." Elfman said as flipped an empty table on its side while the kids ducked behind it for cover.

Yep, despite it being a holiday, it was just another day at Fairy Tail.

XXXX

It was late when the time the Dragneel Clan arrived home.

Igneel was fast asleep as he rested his head against his father's muscular shoulder while Lilly was gently cradled in Natsu's arms.

Lucy silently opened the door to the apartment and helped Natsu put the kids to bed. Lilly was still in her princess costume so Lucy removed her wings, shoes and tiara, before placing her daughter under the covers and kissing her forehead gently. She then helped Natsu remove Igneels jacket and boots and kissed him goodnight as well while Natsu draped Igneels bed sheets over him.

The two silently left their children's room and silently closed the door behind them before they too retired to their room.

"That was quite the evening, I'm glad the kids had fun." Natsu said as he finished brushing his teeth.

"I told you it would be a Halloween to remember." Lucy said as she finished gently running a brush through her hair, the blonde strands easily parting from Lucy's repeated motions.

The two climbed into bed together and once they had gotten settled, turned off their bedside lamps. The room was dark for a moment before being illuminated by pale moonlight. Lucy snuggled up to Natsu, her head resting on his chest while he in turn wrapped his arms gently around Lucy's smaller frame.

"I'm glad you had another good Halloween." Lucy said as she gently but slowly traced her finger in a circular motion on Natsu's broad chest.

"I always have a good time whenever I'm with you." Natsu said as he gently rubbed his thumb up and down the small of Lucy's back.

Lucy chuckled before glancing over at the clock on Natsu's side. It was eleven at night.

"You know," Lucy said as she moved herself so that she was atop Natsu, "it is still Halloween." Lucy purred.

"And I believe I still owe you that "treat" from earlier."

Natsu let a small, sly smile form on his lips as Lucy ran her hands down Natsu's sides.

"Is that so?"

Natsu gently connected his lips with Lucy's.

"I love you Lucy…more than you'll ever know." Natsu said as he broke the kiss and rested his forehead against Lucy's.

"I love you too…Natsu." Lucy said as she reconnected her husband's lips with her own.

_**XX-END-XX**_

So what do you guys think? Questions…comments…reviews?

I know it may have been a little cliché towards the end but I couldn't write this without giving you guys a dose of NaLu feels. Also, if you guys figure out who the Kaito and Salina belong to, I'll buy you a cookie; sorry guys, no beer.

Anyway, like I said, I'll post the next chapter for the main story as soon as I can. It's going to be a busy week for me so an update might be late. But until then, enjoy this little story for your reading pleasure.

I'm debating whether or not I should write more side stories. If you guys like the idea and want to see more, just let me know in your review. If you guys would like to make suggestions of your own for a side story, by all means, put your idea in with your review.

Until next time, this is DD42 signing out and I wish you all a very happy Halloween.


	7. Chapter 6

A/N: RED ALERT, RED ALERT, ALL HANDS MAN YOUR BATTLESTATIONS! THIS STORY HAS BEEN UPDATED!

*Author starts to laugh at the absurdity of what he just wrote*

Hello, everyone. Looks like your patience has paid off, here's another update. I'm really sorry the updates are few and far between, but I've had a lot on my plate. College has been busy, I will not lie, but hopefully things will calm down soon. My neck has been bothering me recently so that's kind of distracted me as well; I think I pulled a muscle at the base of my neck. Oh well, that's why they invented Icy-Hot!

As for the side story I posted before Halloween, I'm glad you guys liked it. I'll try my hand at another one after the next two or three chapters. Like I said, if you guys want to make a personal request for a side story feel free to post your idea when you review…just give me some details I can work with so I'm not flying blind.

Also, when I mention Saito's jacket and sunglasses look up the M-65 Field Jacket and Oakley Flak Jacket series for a reference (I happen to own an M-65 with the M81 Woodland camo pattern…it is very comfortable and the best part is that it can take a beating).

Also, again, here is a little age reference chart for the kids in case your confused about how old they are (I don't know why I didn't type this up earlier).

-Igneel and Lilly: 17

-Jenny: 19

-Sam and Saito: 17

-Senna: 18

-Chiara: 5

And now a shout out to you guys!

_**-Sesshomaru'sCrazygal:**_ I'm glad you liked my little Halloween story. I hope you had an awesome Aussie Halloween. Halloween is on October 31st her in the States so I guess that's one thing our two countries share in common…I think it's cool that your Australian by the way. Australia is actually on my list of places to visit before I die.

_**-skelekc: **_Welcome to the story, I'm glad you like it. I will write another side story when I get to it, but I won't be necessarily focusing on Natsu and Lucy. Actually, the next side story will involve Gray and Juvia when I get to it.

_**-Tomoyo10798: **_Hello and welcome back Tomoyo-chan! You were close when it came to my side story challenge. Kaito is Elfman and Evergreen's son but Selina belongs to, believe it or not, Laxus and Mirajane….oh well, you get the cookie anyways XD. I will continue to update this whenever I can, I'm glad you like this story.

And now for the _real_ Chapter 6

XXXX

CHAPTER 6: Awkwardness, questions and the return home

The sun was setting against the horizon as the train from Crocus made its way back to Magnolia. The sun now casted orange, red and yellow hues along with steep, darkening shadows against the inside of the trolley car. However, off in the distance, storm clouds were beginning to form…it would be raining later that night that was for sure. However, none of these things seemed to be noticed by the occupants of the trolley car. They were too focused on the young men and women who claimed to be their children. This particular trolley car was unique in the fact that instead of separate seats or enclosed, private rooms, the seats were parallel, facing each other.

On one side the Crocus team faced the "children" and vice versa.

However, the mages of Fairy Tail weren't sitting with each other per say. Each member kept their distance from each other, the awkwardness of their situation finally catching up to them.

Lucy sat in her spot as she stared at Igneel and Lilly, the latter resting her head on her brother's shoulder as she slept, her chest rising slowly but evenly. Igneel on the other hand was simply reading from a weathered, leather bound book he had procured from his travel pack. Prior to entering the Crocus barracks, Igneel had teleported everyone's packs back to their rightful owners from their hiding spots.

Natsu was also staring at Igneel and Lilly but sat a couple of spaces away from Lucy near Happy and the other exceed. The three cats would look about the trolley every now and then, concerned looks etched on their faces but neither of them dared to break the silence that had settled amongst the mages. Lucy took her eyes of the twins and looked at Natsu. A sad, worried frown formed on her lips when Natsu hesitantly met her eyes before immediately redirecting his gaze elsewhere.

He was avoiding her.

"Give him time." Igneel said quietly as he flipped a page in the book.

Lucy looked back at him.

"He just needs some time to wrap his head around all that has happened."

"You make it sound so simple." Lucy said with a little more bite than she had intended.

If Igneel had been affected by her tone, he didn't show it or didn't care.

"I never said it had to be…it's up to you and him on whether you two want things to be complicated or not."

"It's…it's just that…" Lucy said as she tried to find the right words as to say what.

"It's what?"

"It's just that how can you expect us to believe you!?" Lucy said in a hissed whisper.

Igneel closed his book with a small "tap" and slowly lifted his towards Lucy. They were Natsu's eyes…his father's eyes.

"You and the others come out of nowhere, claim to be our children and expect us to believe you!?" Lucy took a quick breathe, "Natsu and I don't even like each other like that…how can you expect to be my kid?"

Igneel was quiet for a minute.

Then another.

And another.

"Say something!" Lucy hissed.

"You and dad don't like each other, huh? Keep telling yourself that." Igneel said with a not so amused tone.

Lucy was about to retort but Igneel cut her off.

"I saw the way you two interacted on the train to Crocus. The way you would let dad rest his head on your lap because of his motion sickness, how you would run your fingers through his hair as he slept and how you looked at him when the others weren't watching."

Lucy couldn't form a response.

"And I also saw how he looked at you. Whenever you and Happy weren't looking, dad's gaze would never leave you. Or when you two were walking down the streets of Crocus, dad would let your hand brush against his. And I don't need to tell you how protective he can be around you."

Igneel leaned forward slightly and the light from the sun casted a dark shadow over his eyes.

"You can deny it all you want but on some level, somewhere deep inside of your heart…you love dad. Though your mind says otherwise, your heart doesn't…so don't tell me you two don't like each other when it's pretty clear that you do."

Igneel leaned back and reopened his book, flipping to his last page.

Lucy leaned back into her seat with a groan and ran her hands through her hair before slowly dragging them down her face in frustration. She couldn't help but think back to when they left the Crocus barracks.

XXXX

_**Earlier…**_

The waiting room outside of Captain Tenembaum's office was large…well, large by military standards.

Aside from handling his duties as a military officer, Tenembaum was also in charge of maintaining order throughout Crocus. That meant he had to deal with everyone and anyone who felt like complaining or reporting someone or something.

The waiting room which was situated outside of the heavy wooden door that led to Tenembaum's office, contained two desks where his secretary's sat and a series of simple but comfortable arm chairs. Said secretaries kept their heads down while nervously watching the mages before them. One of them was currently talking to Tenembaum in his office. That had been about fifteen minutes ago.

"You think everything is alright?" Saito asked as rested his arms behind his head.

Saito had changed into more comfortable attire when he entered the barracks. He still wore his coyote brown pants and steel toed boots but now a form fitting black t-shirt with a Celtic dragon graphic design hugged his muscular chest and torso. Over the t-shirt he wore a well-used black cotton/nylon cargo jacket. His sunglasses once again covered his eyes, the mirrored lenses reflecting the light of the room.

"You think the Cap'n will let us leave." Sam asked as he absentmindedly twirled his cross necklace in his fingers

Like Saito, Sam had changed into a different set of clothes. He now wore a black long sleeved t-shirt under a blue, grey and black plaid button shirt with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows. His cargo pants and sash had been replaced with a pair of denim jeans and a black leather belt but his leather boots remained.

"That depends on how convincing _he_ is with what he has to say." Senna said.

Senna, unlike Lilly and Jenny, was the only girl out of the group to change her clothes. Her armor had been stored away along with her sword and in its place, she wore a black turtle neck sweatshirt which hugged her curvaceous body and a crimson red short skirt. A pair of knee high leather boots adorned her legs. The look had been completed by Senna adjusting the chopsticks in her hair and, surprisingly, a pair of small, silver earrings.

"You know Igneel; he has a way with words." Lilly said as she let Chiara sit on her lap. The youngest Fullbuster had protested at first, having wanted to sit with Gray and Juvia, but Jenny had gently but firmly told her she would have to wait until Igneel was done speaking with the Captain.

Jenny was currently helping fix Wendy's damaged hair in the nearby bathroom.

XXXX

Carla hovered protectively near Wendy while Jenny used her water magic to cut and even out the damaged hair. Jenny's hands moved with a simplistic precision that was uniquely hers while Wendy kept her eyes closed.

"W-who taught you how to do this." Wendy asked.

"My mother did. I think I was about your age when she first started teaching me."

"You mother…you mean Juvia don't you?" Wendy asked hesitantly.

Jenny nodded with a small, almost sad smile.

"Aye," Jenny said as she angled Wendy's head gently.

"…It doesn't seem possible." Wendy said.

Jenny sighed slightly.

"It's the truth. I know this might be hard for you to understand at the moment. But we'll explain everything when the time is right."

"What do you mean by that?" Carla asked.

Jenny gave the cat a small, knowing smile.

"Nice try. When it comes down to it, it's Igneel's decision…not mine."

With a flick of her wrist, Jenny removed the last strand of hair.

"There now," Jenny said as she rested her hands on Wendy's shoulders and bent down so that her head was next to hers, "you can open your eyes now."

Wendy did so and it took her a second to recognize her own reflection.

"W-wow." Wendy whispered as she gently and slowly moved her fingers through her hair.

Jenny had managed to remove all the damaged hair and give Wendy a face framing bob style cut. It wasn't bad per se…it was just different.

"And this," Jenny said as she pulled a yellow hairband out from her beneath her poncho, "completes it."

Jenny gently placed the headband in Wendy's blue strands and let the girl admire her new look.

"It's different from what I'm used to," Carla said in a warm tone, "but to be honest, I like this new look."

Wendy gave a small smile.

"Yeah, I kind of like it to."

She then turned to Jenny and gave a small bow.

"Thank you Jenny-san."

Jenny chuckled.

"Jenny will do. I hear enough honorifics from my mother, I don't need someone else doing the same to me and the others".

"Alright…J-Jenny." Wendy said hesitantly.

This would take some getting used to.

XXXX

While the kids spoke amongst themselves the Fairy Tail mages were having a similar but hushed conversation.

"Can we trust them?" Erza asked as she continued to watch Senna.

"Forget trusting them, can we _believe_ them!?" Natsu hissed.

"I will admit, the idea that they are our…_children,_" Levy said, the word feeling weird on her tongue, "is a bit farfetched."

Levy casted a quick glance at Saito, who noticed the action and gave his mother a small smile.

Levy quickly looked away from Saito as the strange feeling in the back of her mind made its presence known again.

"However, I can't…_we can't_ ignore the fact that they look like us." Levy added.

"For all we know they could be doing that on purpose," Gajeel said, "trying to get our guard down."

"If they wanted to do something to us, I think they would have done it by now." Lucy said.

"I agree," Meredy said, "if they had wanted to harm you, why would they go through the trouble of fighting and then eliminating Deathwing."

"To cover their tracks, obviously." Gray said as he leaned against the wall, doing his best to keep some distance between him and Juvia.

"I can't believe that." Levy said and was about to say more but held her tongue.

Lucy noticed this and rested her hand on Levy's shoulder.

"What is it?"

"…I can't believe it because…I feel a…a connection to _him_." Levy said as she wrung her hands together.

Lucy paused and her eyes widened.

"You feel it to?" Juvia finally said.

The group looked at Juvia who lowered her eyes to the ground.

"Whenever Juvia-chan gets near Jenny…chan, I feel this connection to her. A connection Juvia can't seem to explain."

Erza, Lucy, and Levy looked at each other with similar looks; they knew exactly what Juvia was talking about.

It was then that Wendy, Jenny and Carla returned from the bathroom. Both groups were surprised by Wendy's new look and the attention made the girl blush in embarrassment.

"You did well." Senna said as Chiara slid off Lilly's lap and went over to her sister.

"I do my best." Jenny said simply as she lifted Chiara up.

Romeo and Wendy tentatively stepped closer to each other.

"I-I…l-like your new haircut." Romeo said as he began to rub his neck.

"T-thanks." Wendy said as she clenched and unclenched her hands behind her back.

"Ane-chan," Chiara said as she pointed her small hand at Wendy, "why is Mrs. Conbolt's tummy not big anymore...isn't she having a baby?" Chiara asked innocently.

"WHAT!?" the Fairy Tail group said in unison as Romeo visibly paled while Wendy unconsciously wrapped her arms around her stomach.

"W-what d-does she m-mean about m-me h-having a b-baby?" Wendy stuttered out.

"Uhm," Lilly dragged the word out as she rubbed the back of her neck, "about that."

Before any more conversation could be carried out, Tenembaum's office door opened and Igneel stepped out with the Captain behind him, the latter carrying a small briefcase.

The two approached the group.

"After a very lengthy discussion with Mister…" Tenembaum looked between Natsu and Igneel, "Dragneel, I have come to the conclusion that your newest members do not pose a serious threat to Crocus and its people."

The kids let out a silent sigh of relief.

"You are free to go about your business."

Tenembaum approached Erza and handed her the briefcase.

"On behalf of the King and the people of Crocus, you have our eternal gratitude for what you all have done for us on this day. Enclosed in that briefcase is the promised 2,590,000 jewels; your payment for services rendered and compensation for any injuries you may have sustained."

Erza popped open the briefcase and inspected the marked bills that were neatly held together next to one another.

Erza nodded in satisfaction and closed the briefcase.

"Thank you Captain. We will be taking our leave now."

"I understand. Do give my regards to your guild master please."

With those words, Tenembaum bowed in respect to the mages and mages returned the gesture. They then picked up their belongings and made their way out of the barracks at a rather brisk pace.

Once the mages had left, Tenembaum let out a deep tired, sigh and took a seat on one of the nearby chairs, his hands braced on his knees.

"Are you alright sir." His one secretary asked.

"I need a drink," Tenembaum said as her ran a hand through his hair, "after what that boy just told me, I need one hell of a drink."

He then casted a glance out the door where the mages had just passed through.

"I hope those Fairy Tail mages know what they're getting themselves into with those kids."

XXXX

_**Now…**_

While Lucy was dwelling on her thoughts the other occupants of the trolley car weren't fairing much better either.

Juvia sat in her spot with Jenny and Sam sitting across from her. Gray was avoiding her again and had chosen to sit towards the back of the car thus making himself the furthest away from the group. Juvia casted a sad, worried glance at Gray who continued to keep his face turned away from her. Jenny gave her brother a questioning look and Sam simply shrugged his shoulders with an eye role.

All the while Chiara slept soundly as her head rested on Juvia's lap. The little girl kept her teddy bear close to her while she lay curled up under Saito's jacket; the latter having given it to her when he noticed she had fallen asleep. Every now and then, the young child would mumble something cutely in her sleep. Juvia absentmindedly began to run her fingers in a gentle motion through her youngest…_daughter's_ hair.

The concept was still taking root in Juvia's mind. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, the feeling in the back of her mind would always reinforce the fact that Chiara was Juvia's daughter.

"_She is Juvia's daughter…Gray's daughter,"_ Juiva thought, _"_our _daughter."_

That last thought caused a heavy blush to settle in on Juvia's cheeks as the implications of how that could be began to sink in.

Levy sat near Meredy as the former kept a gentle, comforting hand on the blue haired girls shoulder. Levy would occasionally move her gaze from Saito to Gajeel and then back to Saito. She could feel the tension Gajeel was creating between him and _his son_.

Gajeel was currently glaring daggers at Saito, both the former and the latter having crossed their arms across their chests. Saito seemed to have fallen asleep, his head resting against the window, his eyes hidden behind his shades.

"You can stop glaring at me." Saito suddenly said, taking Gajeel off guard for a second.

"It's getting rather annoying." Saito continued as he lowered his shades slightly so the unamused look in his eyes was revealed.

Gajeel grunted something incoherent and focused his eyes on something else.

Out of the all the group members, Jellal, Erza, Romeo and Wendy, seemed to be the ones who were weathering the storm better than the others.

Romeo and Wendy, kept a small distance between themselves, were at least able to make eye contact every now and then. They would try say something but no words would seem to come out. The two settled on maintaining the relatively calm silence they had formed.

Erza and Jellal were in similar regards to Romeo and Wendy but they kept their hands closer to each other, despite the awkward silence between them.

Senna watched her parents through half lidded eyes and sighed silently to herself. The awkward silence was that held itself in the car was a bit bothersome. But then again, she couldn't really blame her parents or the parents of her comrades for not wanting to talk given everything they had just experienced.

Senna exhaled slowly through her nose, her version of a sigh, and looked at Igneel from the corner of her eye. He was still reading that book of his. Under normal circumstances she would have left her spot and would have joined him but now wasn't the time.

Senna sighed again.

She really hoped he knew what he was doing otherwise all of their planning would be for naught.

XXXX

When Makarov received the letter from the Crocus Royal Guard that the team he had sent out earlier that morning was returning alive and unharmed, he and the guild had been overjoyed with relief. It also helped that the job had been completed successfully.

So, naturally this would be the cause for a large celebration, something Fairy Tail was rather internationally known for. Even the normally reclusive Porlyusica, had taken the time to come to the guild to see the team…for medical purposes only of course.

Laxus and Mirajane had also successfully returned from their jobs, thus adding even adding more reason to celebrate.

The plan was simple; give the group a surprise party and enjoy a long evening of partying and the intense consumption of alcohol.

That plan was put on hold, however, when Makarov noticed there was more to the letter than he had originally thought. To everyone's surprise, the group was being accompanied back by not only Jellal and Meredy but a group of "unknown origin."

Wanting to see who the newcomers were, the guild waited patiently for the return of their guild mates.

They were not prepared for who stepped through the door…which is where we find ourselves now.

Makarov could only stare in shocked silence, his mouth slightly agape, as he looked at the members of the new group who had returned with the Crocus team. Now, it was not unheard of for people who wanted to join a guild to tag along with a group our person from a guild itself. But these people, these kids or young adults it would seem were a different matter entirely; it was the fact of who they resembled that had Makarov stunned beyond words. While the Crocus team took seats away from the newcomers, the latter stood next to each other in the center of the guild hall.

The confusion, weariness and the more prominent awkwardness hung in the air as Makarov made eye contact with each of the group members. Each group member either gave him a small smile or a nod in acknowledgement. When he finally locked eyes with Igneel, Makarov immediately knew that he was in charge of the group.

Makarov cleared his throat and fixed Igneel with a firm gaze.

"I take it you are the leader of this group." Makarov asked.

"I am." Igneel said.

"Would you care to explain to us who you and your companions are?"

"Down to business like always eh Master Makarov?" Igneel cleared his throat and spoke so everyone in the guild hall could hear him speak.

"I am Igneel Dragneel. Son of Natsu and Lucy. The girl next to me is my twin sister, Lilly."

Igneel motioned to his right.

"These are my friends, Jenny, Sam, and Chiara Fullbuster."

He then motioned to his left.

"And these two, also my friends, are Senna Fernandes and Saito Redfox."

Igneel then motioned to the whole group.

"And we are mages of Fairy Tail."

Makarov let the information sink in as he continued to observe the group. He could not deny the familial resemblance between the kids and their parents. However, that wasn't enough to confirm if they were telling the truth or not.

"If you are members of the Guild, please show me your Guild Mark."

The Crocus team perked up at that statement. They had been so focused on everything else, they hadn't noticed whether or not a Guild Mark was present.

"Of course Master." Igneel said.

Igneel unbuttoned his vest and dress shirt and opened his attire. Sure enough, on his left pectoral muscle was the Guild Mark of Fairy Tail. Though this reveal did show the mark it had also revealed two things about Igneel. One, he was incredible shape, sporting a six pack abdomen and lean muscular chest. Two, was something many were not ready for. A vicious, ragged looking scar ran from Igneel's right hip and curved across his stomach, his left side, and then across his right shoulder having snaked its way across his back. The scar had long ago healed but that didn't mean it didn't look any less painful.

While Igneel re-buttoned his clothing, Lilly proceeded to hike up the hem of her skirt on her left side and revealed her Guild Mark on the outside of her thigh.

Saito cracked his neck before removing his jacket, turning around and raising his shirt. His guild Mark was located smack dab in the middle of his back, right between his shoulder blades.

Senna rolled up her sleeve on her right arm and revealed her Guild Mark to be at the base of her wrist.

Sam rolled up his sleeves and held his forearms up, locked together, facing Makarov. One half of his Guild Mark was on his one arm while the rest was on the other.

Jenny held out her left arm from beneath her poncho and revealed her Guild Mark to be on her left wrist. She then bent down and lowered Chiara's hood and pulled her hair away from her neck. Low and behold, the tiny Fairy Tail mark was on the left side of her neck.

"I see you have the Mark, but in order to make sure it is valid, I must perform a conformation spell."

Makarov made a series of hand gestures before placing his hands on the floor. The Fairy Tail emblem soon appeared beneath the group, glowing a brilliant white light. The light pulsed once, twice and then three times before fading.

At first nothing happened. Many quickly believed that the Marks were fakes.

That was, until one by one, the Guild Marks glowed to life like the Emblem had.

"So…it is true," Makarov said in complete disbelief, "you are members of Fairy Tail."

"Told you." Sam said only to receive a solid slap on the back of the head from Jenny that would make a certain experienced and badass NCIS agent smile in pride as he sipped his morning coffee.

"How did…how on Earth Land is this possible?" Mirajane asked.

"I think some explanations are in order. You ever hear of a Time Gate?" Igneel asked.

Makarov and Porlyusica's eyes widened at this revelation.

"What's a Time Gate?" Happy asked.

"A Time Gate is a rare, highly advanced form of time manipulation magic. It allows one to travel for short or extended periods through time and space to any year they so desire whether it be past or present." Porlyusica said.

"However, the magic had its draw backs. If you weren't careful, you could seriously damage or alter the time period you were in or the time stream itself. On more than one occasion, the people who attempted to use this magic were sometimes never heard from again…and so it was unanimously outlawed by every country on Earthland. All knowledge pertaining to it was either destroyed or kept under heavy lock and key."

"So that raises the question, how did you activate a time gate?" Makarov asked.

"On accident." Senna said.

"The reason we're hear with so much stuff in our packs is because we all had decided to go on a training and camping trip for most of the week so we could hone our skills in private. We were taking a path through the highlands and decided to stop at this rock out cropping we happened upon for the night." Igneel said.

"I sat down on this one rock and happened to notice a glyph beneath my boot. It was barely visible underneath all the dirt and moss so I activated my Dragon Skin and began scratching away at it. My magic must have accidently triggered the Time Gate because next thing we know we're here; back home and in the East Forest." Saito said.

"If you noticed a freak storm earlier in the day that was probably us." Lilly said.

"_So that was the magic I felt." _Makarov thought.

Makarov scratched his chin.

"And you're sure you didn't use any spell to cause the Gate to open?"

Saito held up his index finger, the Dragon Skin activating and turning it into a razor sharp blade.

"Does it look like I could do anything serious with this?" Saito asked sardonically.

"Point taken." Makarov said literally and figuratively.

"Why didn't you try to contact someone?" Porlyusica asked.

"…We had no way to confirm whether or not anyone we knew was here or not. For all we knew we could have been sent back twenty or so years into the past or future. We then scouted out the town and noticed our parents at the train station. We decided to follow them and hoped to get some answers. But as it turned out, we each caught up with them just in time to save them." Jenny said.

"…I see. But you stated that you already knew you had been sent through a Time Gate, why search for answers?" Makarov asked.

"I had read about Time Gate's while I was doing some extra studying on my magic," Igneel said, "I just happened to remember the information about it."

"What magic do you use anyway?" Laxus asked as he leaned back against the bar counter, eyeing Igneel and Saito.

"The magic I sense from your friends is similar to people we sent to Crocus but you and…Saito's I do not recognize." Makarov added.

Igneel and Saito gave a small smile.

Saito activated his Dragon Skin, the tick, jet black armor covering his exposed skin.

"**Dragon Skin." **Saito said while Igneel formed an orb of light in his hand.

"Light Caster."

Makarov gave the two an astonished look.

"Those are both equally rare and powerful magic's…how did you learn it?" Porlyusica said.

"It's in my blood." Saito said, having changed back to his normal form.

"I apparently get from my dad." Saito said as he looked at Gajeel.

"I do not know that technique…I can make Iron Dragon Scales, but nothing on the scale that yer capable of."

Saito frowned slightly.

"Hmm, odd. From what I remember you should have learned it by now."

"_Odd indeed."_ Igneel thought.

"And what about you Igneel?" Makarov asked.

"I was taught by a Celestial Spirit called Knight. He began teaching me when I first learned how to use his Spirit Key. Said I was, apparently, a natural at it."

"Then how come Lilly doesn't use Light magic. You two had to activate the key together didn't you?" Lucy asked.

"The summoning process requires two but that doesn't necessarily mean the other user has learn how to be a Light Caster. She was already being taught how to use Fire magic from dad so there was no need for her to learn the techniques."

"I see." Lucy said. The concept, though simple, did have a point.

The sound of thunder and the pitter-patter of rain caught everyone's attention. The storm that was forming had arrived.

"Needless to say, it's been a long day for all of you…why don't you return home for the night. Jellal, Meredy, I'm sure there is a hotel or inn that can put you up for the night. As for your children…" Makaorv said, unaware that the word had caused some to flinch.

"We'll just crash on a couch or the floor for the night." Igneel said.

"Very well, as to who you are staying with, I'll leave that up to you."

Igneel bowed.

"Thank you Master Makarov."

The others bowed in turn and began to make for the exit as the Crocus team followed, albeit hesitantly.

"Do you believe their story?" Laxus whispered as he stood next to his grandfather.

"I'm not sure. The idea of accidently stumbling upon a Time Gate is not that farfetched…but…."

"But?" Porlyusica asked.

"There is something not quite right about what they told us. Time Gate's require a large quantity of magic and the preparation for one takes time…I think there is something that boy isn't telling us."

"Can they be trusted?"

"I'm not sure about that either. I do not sense any ill will from any of them…but we should remain on our guard none the less."

XXXX

"Do you think they suspect anything?" Lilly whispered to Igneel as they began to step outside.

"Oh, I'm sure of it."

"Should we be worried?" Lilly said as she looked at her brother.

"As of the moment; no. So long as we stick to the plan and play it safe, we should be able to keep them in the dark long enough to do what we need to do."

"…I hope your right about this."

"Same here." Igneel said as he summoned his cloak and pulled its hood over his head.

XXXX

_**In an unknown location…**_

In a scarcely lit room, five individuals sat at a round table facing each other, their features hidden in shadow.

"Deathwing is dead," Said the first individual, a woman and the leader of the group, "killed by a mage in Crocus."

The others looked at each other, their expressions unreadable.

"Who is to blame?" asked a male.

"Reports indicate that initially he encountered the Fairy Tail Guild during his mission. He almost finished them off if it weren't for the intervention of an unknown group." Said another female.

"Reinforcements from Fairy Tail?" Asked a second male asked.

"Unknown." The woman said again.

"His death will prove a hindrance to our plans." Said a third female.

"It makes no difference." The leader said as she waived her hand dismissively.

"We can always find others like him; our plan will continue as scheduled."

"What about these new mages…they seemed to have teamed up with Fairy Tail." The second male said.

"They have no idea as to who we are yet…we will deal with Fairy Tail when the time comes."

"And if they continue to interfere with our goals." The first male asked.

The leader, if her expression could be seen, formed a cruel smirk on her mouth.

"_Then we will eliminate them."_

XXXX

A/N: A new threat has made itself known, secrets are being kept, and our favorite mages are struggling to realize they are parents…am I intriguing you yet? (LOL, I'm so dramatic). Anyway, I'll start the next chapter as soon as I can. I am currently in the process of brainstorming a second, separate story to work on so I'll see if I can balance the two out without losing my thought train. I hope you enjoyed this chapter and feel free to leave any questions you have in your review.

If that's all, I will see you all next time; happy reading! Read and review please!_  
_


	8. Chapter 7

A/N: Wait a minute! My mind can't comprehend this. Did I just update…_**early!? IMPOSSIBLE!**_

*Laughs at himself again*

Hello everyone and welcome back. Yes, I had some free time so I finished this bad boy up and posted it for your reading pleasure considering I have a test and paper I need to balance out.

I just want to let you guys know that I will be busy during the end of November and beginning of December; I have some business I'll be needing to attend to before final semester exams for college…so that'll take up some time. I will be off from school until February for winter break so you know what that means…more updates! I do appreciate you guys being patient with me when I work on this…it's sort of a confidence booster believe it or not. I will work on this when I can, but I will be taking more time to study and prep for exams.

And now a shout out to you guys:

_**-Darkhope:**_ Hey there, long time no see! Welcome back, I'm glad you like this story. To answer your question, yes, the kids will be spending more time with their parents. They all just need to get past the initial awkwardness first.

_**-Sesshomaru'sCrazygal: **_As always welcome back crazy girl! I'm sure your country is an amazing place. I will get around to visiting it…when I have the time and money to do so :).

_**-ichihime4: **_Welcome to the story! Thanks for wishing me luck, I appreciate it. As for matching up the kids together…we~ll; you'll just have to wait and see X).

_**-kazenoseiren:**_ Welcome! I'm glad I'm keeping you guessing. Don't worry about your grammar, its superb actually. For someone who's only been studying English for 3 years, I have to say you're doing very well. If you feel like you are having problems asking anything in English, just use google translate.

And now, let's get started shall we?

XXXX

CHAPTER 7: Troubled minds; a night of uneasy solace

The rain came down steadily as Lucy opened the door to her apartment. Stepping inside and removing her shoes, Lucy removed the spare cloak Lilly had given her and hanged it on an empty spot on her coat rack.

Lilly stepped in, locking and closing the door as she did so, and did the same as her mother and slowly looked around the apartment, a small smile on her face as she took in every detail.

The two were quiet as Lucy's eyes followed her daughter as she walked about the room, hands behind her back. She seemed particularly interested in the small table where she kept all of her photos framed.

The feeling of connection to the girl was a constant, dull presence in the back of Lucy's mind. No matter how hard she tried to deny it, she knew it was her maternal instinct finally coming to life.

"_She has my hair…my eyes…she even walks the same way as I do."_ Lucy thought.

"_But…she has Natsu's smile and she even has a little of his hair color too."_

Natsu.

Lucy frowned slightly as she thought of the Dragon Slayer she had become so close to…and what Igneel had told her on the train.

Her son's words.

Lucy bit her lip at that last thought. Aside from her maternal instincts, Igneel's words and Igneel himself were another matter she was currently wrestling with. And quite frankly her head was starting to hurt from it all.

Wanting to try and break the ice between her and Lilly, Lucy decided to say something.

"Uhm…thanks for giving me the cloak." Lucy said as she rubbed the back of her neck.

Lilly continued to look at the pictures but smiled none the less.

"No problem, it didn't seem right to just leave you standing in the rain while I stayed nice and dry."

Lilly then focused on a small, blue picture frame and gently picked it up.

"Out of all the pictures we have back home…this one is my favorite." Lilly said as she gently traced the tips of her fingers over the glass, a smile and look that Lucy couldn't quite place forming on her features.

Lucy went over to Lilly and looked at the picture. She couldn't help but smile herself.

It was a picture of her and Natsu from the Fantasia Parade. Natsu was dressed in his usual attire while Lucy had been dressed in her parade outfit like the other girls had worn. Natsu and Lucy had wrapped their arms around each other's shoulders, Natsu's more powerful left arm had pulled Lucy close to him while the latter managed to brace her left hand against his chest while still managing to move her right arm around his broad shoulders. The two smiled brightly for the camera.

She could see why Lilly liked the photo…it was simply heartwarming.

But at the same time, the picture also reinforced what Igneel had said and Lucy was starting to get tired of playing tug of war with her thoughts.

She looked the clock on her wall and frowned. It was only half past ten.

"_But it feels like midnight."_ Lucy thought as she tried to stifle a yawn.

"You look tired." Lilly said as she gently put the picture back in its spot.

"Why don't we both get ready for bed and I'll just crash on the couch."

Lucy was too tired to protest against what Lilly had said and decided it was best to just take a shower and get ready for bed.

XXXX

"I'll take the couch." Saito said as he walked through the door to Gajeel's apartment, Pantherlily a few steps behind.

"Yeah, make yourself at home while you're at it." Gajeel said sarcastically, a little peeved that Saito had entered his home without preamble.

Saito placed his pack near the couch as he stepped around some of the clutter that filled the apartment.

Saito made a small frown as he picked some dirty clothes off the couch and set it a on a neat pile on the floor.

He remembered that Levy wasn't with Gajeel yet…he was used to growing up in a relatively spotless house. He couldn't help the small smile that spread across his lips.

"What's so funny?" Gajeel said as he set his keys down on the kitchen table.

"If mom saw all this clutter in our house she would throw a fit."

Gajeel winced slightly at the mention of Levy being referred to as "mom."

He still couldn't believe that standing in front of him was his son. He may have been his son from a day yet to come, but he was still his son none the less.

"Yeah, shorty is a bit of neat freak." Gajeel said as he rubbed his bicep.

A tense silence filled the room.

"I'll…I'll just change real quick and rest hear on the couch…that alright?" Saito.

"…Yeah, sure, whatever." Gajeel said as he sulked off to his room.

Gajeel gave a small, tired frown on his face.

"It would seem you two have a lot of ground to cover." Pantherlily said, having watched the exchange between the two.

"More than you know." Saito said as he pulled out a baggy muscle shirt and sweat pants from his pack.

XXXX

Juvia watched as Jenny gently ran a comb through Chiara's damp hair, the older girl humming a relaxing tune as she guided the brush through her little sisters silken strands.

Juvia and Jenny had already taken separate showers when they arrived to Juvia's apartment, the latter of the two having been slightly hesitant at letting them in her home. Chiara on the other hand excitedly by passed the older women's legs and giddily ran about the apartment before being calmed down by her sister.

After finishing their showers, Jenny had readied a bath for Chiara and helped her sister bathe. Now the little girl sat on her sister's lap, her eyes beginning to become half lidded as the calming sensations of the brush and Jenny's voice began to take effect.

For some reason, Juvia herself wanted to be the one who was brushing Chiara's hair. It was a feeling that confused and slightly terrified her at the same time.

"There now." Jenny said as she placed the brush down and let Chiara crawl onto the couch, a blanket and pillow already set out for her.

"Are you ready to go to sleep?"

Chiara could only nod as a yawn parted her lips. She groggily wiped her eyes and crawled under the blanket.

"Good night Ane-chan." Chiara mumbled. As soon as her head touched the pillow, Chiara was fast asleep.

Jenny smiled and gently kissed her sisters forehead.

"I can sleep on the floor for the night, it won't kill me." Jenny said as she stood up.

Juvia held up her arms and shook them slightly.

"Juvia couldn't let you do that, it would be rude of Juvia to not offer you the bed."

Jenny smiled and shook her head.

"It's alright mom…I don't mind in the least."

"But Juiva-"

"Mom…I'm fine with it." Jenny said, her smile still present but her voice was firm.

"It's late and we've both had a long day. Why don't you go to bed and we'll worry about sleeping arrangements in the morning."

Juvia could only nod as Jenny turned out the ceiling lamp, the only light now came from Juvia's bedside table. Occasionally a flash of lightning and distant rumble of thunder would fill the room.

XXXX

_**Later in the night…**_

Sleep didn't come easy for the mages of Fairy Tail; especially for Natsu, Gray, Levy and Erza.

While the same could be said Juiva, Lucy, and Gajeel, those three had at least been able to settle their minds to the point where they drifted off to sleep.

But for the three aforementioned mages, sleep seemed nothing if next to impossible for sleep to find them. It didn't help that the storm had picked up as well.

_**Natsu**_

Natsu lay on his back as he stared at the ceiling, his arm resting on his forehead. Igneel lay on the couch amongst the clutter in what constituted as the living room.

He would hear the Light Caster turn every now and then in his sleep while the rain continued its steady pattern against his bedroom window.

Natsu let out an explosive sigh, turned on his side and punched his pillow in hopes of giving it some extra fluff so he could fall asleep faster.

…It didn't work.

"Damn it." Natsu muttered under his breathe.

Ever since he'd left the guild hall and let Igneel tag along with him, he couldn't get what Igneel had said on the train out of his head.

Oh, he had heard what Igneel had said to Lucy. He may have been trying to avoid her, but that didn't mean he hadn't overheard what he said about him and Lucy.

"_And I also saw how he looked at you. Whenever you and Happy weren't looking, dad's gaze would never leave you. Or when you two were walking down the streets of Crocus, dad would let your hand brush against his. And I don't need to tell you how protective he can be around you."_

"Damn it." Natsu huffed again.

"_You can deny it all you want but on some level, somewhere deep inside of your heart…you love dad. Though your mind says otherwise, your heart doesn't…so don't tell me you two don't like each other when it's pretty clear that you do."_

"Freaking damn it." Natsu said as he gritted his teeth.

Why couldn't he shake those words out of his damn skull!

Natsu ran his fingers through his hair in frustration.

It was true that he was extra protective around his guild mates, especially a little more around Lucy due to all of the leering and perverted looks she received from most of the guys no matter where they went.

But he was like that with anyone he was close to.

Lucy just needed a little extra attention that's all, Natsu tried to justify.

And of course he knew Lucy liked him. They were a nakama; they were family. They were supposed to love each other…right?

Natsu suddenly got a feeling in the pit of his stomach that the kind of "love" Igneel was talking about was something else entirely.

He wasn't talking about family love in the way siblings love each other but _love, love._

The kind of love shared between a man and a woman.

Natsu bit his lip slightly.

There was no way Lucy could love him like that…could she?

_**Erza**_

Erza watched the drip down her window as the storm continued to rage outside, her knees pulled up to her chest beneath her bed sheet.

It was the perfect literal representation of the turbulent storm in her mind.

She had fallen asleep easily enough, having helped Senna set up her spare futon in the armor room adjacent to her room, and let the exhaustion she had fought off all day finally catch up with her.

But even while she slept, her dreams did not put her mind at ease.

She had dreamed she had been walking along the beach near the edge of town, her feet taking her through the shallow surf as the warm water rose and fell at her ankles. The soles of her feet gently grinded against the soft but course sand, thus eliciting a pleasant feeling in Erza's feet. She wore a simple, white sun dress; nothing more, nothing less. All the while, the sun was setting against the horizon.

She had wondered what she was doing at the beach but then again she could care less. She felt so calm, so at ease, that she just wanted to get lost in the moment.

As her legs carried her at an easy going pace, she noticed someone standing off in the distance.

As she got closer, mush to her surprise, that the person was none other than Jellal.

He wore a simple white button down shirt with the first two buttons near his neck undone along with the buttons on his wrists. A simple pair of khakis completed the look.

Jellal, as if sensing her presence, turned his head towards her and gave her the simple, small she loved so much.

But Jellal wasn't alone.

Holding his hand, was a little girl who wore a sundress similar to Erza's. Her blue hair with crimson highlights flowed freely in the wind.

Jellal kneeled down and said something to the girl, who in turn finally noticed Erza. A wide, beautiful smile formed on her face and she instantly began to run to Erza.

"Mommy!" The girl called out.

Erza, for reasons she couldn't explain, knelt down with her arms outstretched ready to embrace the girl.

It was at that point when she had woken up with a startled gasp.

Which is where she was now, unable to fall asleep, the vivid images of the dream playing over in her mind.

She knew who the child was.

And who her father was.

"Jellal." Erza whispered.

She loved Jellal, more than anyone else in the world, and she knew Jellal had the exact same feelings for her. She had wanted to take time to reconnect with him, to get to know him again. But now she feared Senna's arrival and what she entailed, would push him away from her again.

She had lost him once before…and she couldn't bear to face losing him again.

_**Levy…**_

Like Erza, Levy had woken from a dream herself, but it was of a different nature.

Her bedside lamp was on as she slowly turned the page of the book she had been trying to read. Now her eyes stared off into nothing, not seeing the words on the page before her.

Her mind replaying the dream in her head.

To be fair, the dream was something of the surreal nature.

She had found herself in a large, low lit library, sitting at an empty table. The massive book shelves held volume after volume of well-organized pieces of literature, the shelves themselves reaching high into the darkness of the ceiling; seemingly disappearing into nothing.

For a second, Levy thought she had died and gone to heaven.

She had immediately sprung from her seat and went to the nearest book she could find. Reaching the shelf, she gently pulled the book from its place, opened it and found that the page she had opened to was blank.

Levy frowned.

She tried another book and was met with the same result.

Levy frowned again.

She tried another book, then another and another.

And every time, she was presented with blank pages.

"Did you know that what you're doing could be considered the definition of insanity?" A voice said.

Levy turned her head to the voice and saw Saito leaning against a shelf.

The young mage smiled at his mother before fixing his posture.

"What…what are you doing here?" Levy asked.

Saito shrugged and placed his hands in his pockets before walking away from Levy and down the aisle of another shelf.

"Hey, wait!" Levy called out.

And so a game of cat and mouse had begun. Levy would find Saito on one side of a shelf and then he would be right behind her. Sometimes he would be two steps ahead of her and others he would be on the opposite side of the room.

She did not how long she had been running, time seemingly nonexistent in this library, but the chase finally ended when she finally caught up to Saito. He stood at the top of a stair case, flipping through a large leather bound book that rested on an angled pedestal.

However, someone else had arrived.

"Shorty? The hell are you doing here!?" Gajeel asked.

"Gajeel!?" Levy asked.

The sound of the heavy books cover closing alerted the two back to Saito…who had simply disappeared.

"Where'd he go?" Gajeel asked.

Timidly stepping up the small stair case, Gajeel right behind her, Levy approached the book.

The leather was fading and the binding looked like it had been replaced. The tan of the leather seemed to have lost its luster with the passage of time.

The title on the center of the book in simple script said _"LEVY."_

Levy tentatively opened the cover and the pages seemed to automatically flip to the middle of the book.

There, on the parchment paper and drawn in out in charcoal, was an amazingly detailed picture of Levy in a rocking chair, reading a book in one hand, the other resting on her _swollen_ belly.

Levy gasped and stepped back from the book and into Gajeel as the page turned by itself. Gajeel placed a protective hand on her shoulder.

The page turned and Levy felt Gajeel's hand clench her shoulder slightly as the Dragon Slayer inhaled sharply. A new drawing had appeared.

This drawing showed Gajeel gently holding Levy from behind, his arms gently wrapping around her petite frame as the two looked at the small, bundle in Levy's arms. An impossibly small hand barely wrapped itself around Levy's outstretched pinkie finger.

Levy and Gajeel instantly knew what or to be more accurate, who was gently wrapped in the blanket.

The page turned again.

This time it revealed a now grown Saito in his Dragon Skin. Though his features were hard to discern since his features were hidden, his eyes seemed to be staring directly at Levy and Gajeel…a forlorn look forming in his eyes.

The dream abruptly ended there.

Levy had been unable to fall asleep since.

Levy bit her lip.

What was the purpose of that dream? Had it been to show her the future or to show her something else? And why was Gajeel there with her, seemingly able to interact with her?

Levy let out a long tired sigh.

Things were not adding up.

_**Gray**_

A flash of lightning illuminated Gray's room and he squinted at the sudden burst of light. The low rumble of thunder echoed off in the distance.

From his room, he could see Sam peacefully asleep on his couch, his chest steadily rising and falling with each silent breath. His right arm was draped over his eyes, thus sparring him from being awoken by the lightning.

Ever since he had climbed into bed, Gray had been unable to fall asleep and he wondered if the others were facing a similar problem.

Gray cursed under his breath and rolled onto his side, his back to Sam. He was still unnerved by how he and Sam looked alike.

But that was not what he was currently dwelling on.

"_He's not just my son…he's Juvia's too." _

A sad but confused look formed on Gray's face.

"_And so are those two girls."_

Gray had always been well aware of how Juvia felt towards him. The water mage was head over heels in love and even though Gray would never admit it, he grown to enjoying her company. But he wondered if there was more to it than just a simple attraction between the two of them.

His thoughts went back to how Wynonna nearly killed Juvia right before his eyes… the hysterical, gut wrenching panic he had felt at the mere thought of losing her.

The exact same feeling he had felt during the Grand Magic Games.

Gray unconsciously rubbed his chest where one of Motherglare's hatchlings had delivered its fatal attack.

He remembered the feeling of each attack as it struck his body…how he was literally blasted to pieces.

But there had been something else he remembered.

Despite being blasted through the head, Gray had found himself looking down on the battlefield, stuck in the limbo between leaving the body and entering the afterlife. He had watched as Lyon had called for Meredy…and how Juvia had wept over his body. It was then in a stark moment of clarity, that Gray had realized the extent of Juvia's feelings. It wasn't obsession or puppy love…it was true love. And she had nearly died because of that love.

She had nearly died because of him.

But then Ultear had reversed time…and Gray found himself back in the fight.

He hadn't told anyone about his experience; he was too afraid to do so, too conflicted with his feelings to tell Juvia.

Gray let out a tired sigh.

He was still trying to figure out how he felt for the water mage, all these months later. And even though he told Juvia she was being "clingy", he would admit to himself that he had kind of liked being with Juvia the way they were before they were attacked.

But now that Sam, Jenny and Chiara were staying with him and Juvia, the realization that they were his children was starting to set in. That he and Juvia, sometime in the future, had…had…

_Had sex. _Those two simple words echoed in Gray's mind like a gunshot.

They had made love; they had brought themselves together in a union that had produced three children.

Gray gritted his teeth at the thought.

It didn't seem possible.

He may have liked Juvia…but he didn't love her the way she wanted him to.

He couldn't love her that way…could he?

XXXX

Juvia had awoken to the crack of thunder and a small, barely noticeable whimper.

Juvia stepped out of bed and tied her night robe around her body. Making her way over to the couch where the whimper had come from, a concerned frown formed on Juvia's face when she saw Chiara tightly gripping her blanket and teddy bear, her teeth biting into her lips slightly.

Another crack of thunder rumbled through the air and heavy rain.

Chiara let out another, more audible whimper.

"Mommy." The little girl whimpered in her sleep.

Juvia knelt down and gently began to run her fingers through Chiara's hair in a soothing motion. She did not know what compelled her to do so…but it just felt like the right thing to do. Chiara whimpered every now and then so Juvia acted on another impulse.

Juvia gently pulled up Chiara's blanket and laid down on the couch, her little girl held close to her.

This seemed to calm Chiara down and soon the little girls was back to a peaceful sleep.

Juvia smiled. Something about this, holding Chiara close to her, felt right…it felt natural.

And all the while, Jenny had silently watched Juvia. A small smile formed on her face as she couldn't help but remember how Juvia would do the same thing when she was little…when she herself had been afraid of thunder storms.

XXXX

Natsu had managed to finally fall to sleep…only to be awakened five minutes later by Igneel. It almost sounded like Igneel was groaning in pain…extreme pain.

Getting out of bed Natsu slowly crept to his bedroom door and opened it a crack.

"Natsu," Happy asked as he wiped some sleep from his eyes, "what's wrong?"

"Shh." Natsu hushed happy.

Natsu looked through the opening in the door.

Igneel lay on his back, the spare bed sheet kicked aside, and writhed in what seemed to be pain.

Igneel's back began to arch as he began to grip and pull at his muscle shirt; his hands threatening to shred his shirt. The thick chords of muscle in his neck began to show under the strain as sweat ran down his skin.

It took Natsu a second to realize Igneel was caught in a nightmare and that he was trying to grip at his scar.

Feeling that he had to do something, Natsu stepped out of his room to help Igneel.

"Hey!" Natsu said as he gripped Igneel's shoulders.

"Hey, calm down, you're alright!"

Igneel continued to fight against Natsu's hands.

"Igneel, wake up! You're just having a dream! Damn it man, _**WAKE. UP!**_"

Igneel's eyes suddenly opened…

And in one fluid motion, Igneel bolted upright, pinned down Natsu's one arm and used his free hand to choke slam Natsu to the ground.

Natsu tried to fight against Igneel's grip but the Light Caster wouldn't let up.

"Igneel!" Natsu wheezed, "It's me!"

Igneel suddenly froze as he finally became aware of his surroundings.

He let go of Natsu and pushed himself away from the Dragon Slayer; hyperventilating.

Coughing, Natsu sat up and gave Igneel worried look as he rubbed his neck as Happy came over help Natsu sit up.

Igneel looked at Natsu, then his hands and back to Natsu.

"D-dad?" Igneel asked.

"You were having a serious nightmare…I tried to wake you up but when I did you attacked me."

"O-oh my…o-oh my Gods I'm so sorry!"

Natsu gave Igneel a concerned look. What had he been dreaming of that prompted him to attack?

"You alright?" Natsu asked.

Igneel took a deep calming breath and shakily rose to his feet as he sat back on the couch.

"Y-yeah…I'm fine. I'm fine…I just need to take a breather that's all."

A tense silence fell between the two.

"You….you want to talk about it?" Natsu ventured.

Igneel shook his head as he rested his eyes on his palm.

"I'm fine dad…just go back to sleep."

"Are you sure? I mean I cou-"

"Dad…I'm fine." Igneel said firmly as he looked up at Natsu. His eyes were firm and his mouth was set in a thin line.

Natsu held up his hands defensively.

"Alright…alright."

Natsu and Happy headed back to Natsu's room. The fire mage casted one last worried glance over his shoulder at the mage who was his son before closing the door.

"Is Igneel alright?" Happy whispered.

"Yeah, he's fine Happy…he just had a really bad dream that's all." Natsu said as he tried to reassure Happy.

"But what the hell caused him to have it." Natsu whispered to himself.

Back on the couch, Igneel sat hunched over with his forehead and eyes resting in his hands.

"_It was that nightmare again."_ Igneel hissed as his hands began to tremble slightly, a single, silent tear rolled its way down his cheek before dripping onto the floor.

"_It was that freaking nightmare."_

Another tear fell.

"_Damn her…damn them all." _Igneel whispered.

XXXX

A/N: And there we go guys! A little angst thrown in with some mystery. I hope I did a good job of getting into everyone's heads with this chapter. I tried to imagine how one would feel and think if they were in this particular situation. Anyhow, I did my best so that's all that matters right?

As always, read and review please! If you have any questions or comments just leave 'em in your review.

Until then, I will see you all next time; happy reading!


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